In early September, profound differences became apparent between Zarah Sultana and fellow Independent Alliance MP Adnan Hussain.
By Ellie Costain
This came after the latter shared a post on X attacking “gender ideology”, adding that he believed “women’s rights and safe spaces should not be encroached upon”. In contrast, Zarah Sultana took to the platform to proclaim her solidarity with trans people.
Sultana has begun to express in powerful and inspiring terms her vision for Your Party (YP) to be a political force to win real gains for the working class in our collective fight for a socialist world. In her words: “we are not fighting for crumbs off the table, we are coming for the lot”. So how does the struggle for trans rights fit into this party?
The exchange between Sultana and Hussain is one of many examples of the different political ideas on display within YP. These differences boiled over into a public falling out between Sultana and the other MPs in September, leaving many of the 800,000 people who initially signed up to look on with caution at the new party. Many are currently “waiting to see” how things develop.
This caution is certainly shared by the trans community. In recent years, trans people’s right to live a dignified life free from harassment, abuse and violence has been the subject to bitter culture war “debates”.
Establishment anti-trans crusade
The Labour Party have backtracked on any previous pretences of protecting trans rights. Starmer, who was pictured leading London Pride in 2022, welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling that the terms “legal” and “sex” in the Equalities Act refer exclusively to “biological sex”. This was a huge blow for the rights of trans, intersex and gender non-conforming people.
While Starmer welcomed the decision for providing “clarity”, in reality this decision further marginalises an already marginalised group.
The attacks on trans people are often under the pretence of “protecting women’s rights” – presenting trans people as predatory or dangerous to cisgender women.
The rise of Reform UK is a serious threat to the rights and safety of trans people. Reform UK in their policy manifesto promise to “ban trans ideology”. They are openly hostile to trans rights and rile against the “woke left” – by which they mean anyone who stands against racism, sexism, trans and LGBTQ+phobia.
Reform and the far right latch onto the real problem of gender violence in society and place the blame for it on immigrants and migrants who have fled to this country on small boats. They portray violence against women as something foreign which has been imported by (mainly Muslim) men of colour, and themselves as the only protectors of women.
Of course, by extension the same is true of trans people, who they portray as the purveyors of a corrupting “ideology” on young children, and themselves as the defenders of “common sense” and “British values”. With falling living standards and an increasing cost of living, Reform have grown in popularity by seemingly offering an alternative to the politics of the establishment which is miserably failing to address these issues.
Many watched in shock and fear when hundreds of thousands marched through London for Tommy Robinson’s racist “Unite the Kingdom” march, waving St George’s flags which have been a symbol of nationalism and division.
Labour are unable to defend trans rights. What’s more, by being a party of austerity politics and attacks on the working class, they have laid the material basis for Reform’s rise in popularity.
What position should Your Party take?
YP has a huge potential to challenge the transphobic policies and right-wing culture-war rhetoric recited in unison by all wings of the capitalist class, but there is a real fear that this might be squandered. When YP was launched by Corbyn and Sultana back in August, hundreds of thousands of supporters signed with enthusiasm.
Finally, two of the most progressive left-wing MPs in recent years were coming together to launch a party to oppose austerity, stand against the right, and to fight for socialism.
For years, trans people’s lives have been subject to right-wing culture wars, constantly scrutinised and demonised by the press and politicians. We desperately need an alternative to these policies. YP must be a political force that can struggle against this system. It can only achieve this through a collective fight – including for trans rights.
But so far, this has not been clear. There is a small but vocal, socially conservative layer at the top of the party whose approach appears to be at odds with that of leaders like Sultana and Corbyn, which has been in defence of trans rights. At the same time, some activists argue that because the issue is “divisive”, we should avoid talking about it.
It is essential for any socialist movement to clearly oppose all oppression – whether that be racism, sexism, transphobia, ableism, national oppression or any other form. The fact that the issue is seen as “divisive” at all is unfortunately a sign of the extent to which the regressive ideas of the right have gone unopposed.
The level of attacks on trans people and refugees if anything makes it all the more urgent to take an unwavering position standing in solidarity with these sections of society.
These forms of oppression sow divisions within the working class, and failing to address them allows those divisions to grow deeper. Instead, YP should be leading the fightback and provide a political voice for the movement for trans liberation.
Your Party must take the lead!
Over the past few years, radical Pride groups have been formed which reject “rainbow capitalism” and the pinkwashing of major corporations who sponsor official Pride events. These more radical Pride organisations reject the division pushed on the queer community and instead link the struggle for trans rights with the struggle against the genocidal war in Palestine and the wider struggle for LGBTQ+ rights, with slogans such as “Queers for Palestine” and “No one is free until we are all free”.
YP should build connections with these radical Pride marches. In Huddersfield, the People’s Alliance for Change and Equality – which has played a key role in building support for the new party in the region – marched with Huddersfield Alternative Pride this year in a crucial demonstration of working-class solidarity.
These activists have gone on to play a key role in supporting the new party, including speaking at the March of the North, alongside Zarah Sultana and other leading figures in the workers’ movement. Drawing those fighting for trans rights into the struggle for a left political alternative can strengthen our hand against the ruling class on all other fronts.
It’s positive that the YP founding document mentions fighting against oppression, but we think this must include a clear reference to fighting for trans liberation. YP must fight to reverse the bans on puberty blockers and for trans-inclusive healthcare on the NHS, as well as the right to self-ID.
Conference decisions should be binding. Those who do not represent the programme of the party, and who undermine working-class unity by failing to stand with trans people, should be recalled and replaced with working-class fighters who can represent our interests.
Thousands of working-class people will be watching the developments of YP with caution and optimism. The role of socialists within YP should be to advocate for a genuinely democratic party with strong roots in the struggles of the multi-gendered working class to stand against the right-wing anti-trans backlash, as well as the capitalist system rooted at its core in oppression.
