Labour blocks men from women’s conference

Men who identify as women will no longer be able to participate in the main events of Labour’s National Women’s Conference.

Following a legal review in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of ‘woman’, the party determined that men will not be able to take part in the main hall’s speeches, policy debates, or votes. But fringe events, exhibitions and an evening reception will be open to both men and women.

This year’s women’s conference was cancelled due to fears of legal action over its admission policy, but the 2024 event allowed anyone who self-identified as a woman to attend.

Review

A Labour spokesperson confirmed: “The National Women’s Conference will be held in 2026 after a comprehensive legal review. This reflects our commitment to addressing the under-representation of women in the party and compliance with the law.”

Labour Women’s Declaration welcomed the party’s “decision earlier this year to follow the Equality Act in all its internal positive action processes for women, and its decision last week to do the same with the women’s conference”.

But it noted: “Opening up the rest of the 2026 women’s conference, such as the reception and exhibition to everyone – regardless of sex, will need to be evaluated after the event by the party and participants.”

Lib Dems

In October, the Liberal Democrats announced that men who claim to be women will no longer be allowed to serve as female representatives on internal committees.

The party also made its decision after taking legal advice on complying with the Supreme Court ruling that the definition of a woman is determined by biology not ideology for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

The Liberal Democrats operate a quota policy, where a certain number of positions in committees must be allocated to women.