London councils pledge to ignore 'harmful' trans guidance
The leaders of several left-wing London councils have vowed to resist the guidance, which they said was "harmful to the rights of trans people"
Six London boroughs have pledged to ignore the government's new guidance on single-sex spaces after fresh rules came into force.
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The new code, published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), says services such as toilets and changing rooms must be used on the basis of a person's biological sex, rather than the one they identify with.
The leaders of several left-wing London councils have vowed to resist the guidance, which they said was “harmful to the rights of trans people”.
The new code is not legally binding but rather provides organisations with guidance about how to comply with existing law following the April 2025 Supreme Court ruling.
It came into force after the court ruled that the protected characteristic of sex in the Equality Act referred strictly to biological sex.
Read more: For trans people, the right to exist freely is being stripped away
Six boroughs - Lambeth, Hackney, Haringey, Lewisham, Southwark and Waltham Forest - have made a commitment to keep their services gender inclusive.
The council leaders - at the head of Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat administrations - penned a joint letter to the Government stating that they would not place staff in the “impossible position of policing entry to public spaces”.
The letter to Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities, continued: "It is simply unacceptable that the Code of Practice is harmful to the rights of trans people and will make their exclusion from public life more likely, not less.
“This will feel like an attack to the countless trans people in our communities who are simply trying to live their lives in safety and wish to be treated with respect.”
They urged the minister to ensure that the code could not be “interpreted to exclude Trans+ people from services”.
Legal action has already been started against Hackney Council over its alleged failure to provide female-only services, the Times reports.
Last month, Green-run Lambeth Council in South London had already signalled it would resist the guidance amid concerns it would leave "trans people open to discrimination”.
Green-led Bristol council has said its services will still be allowed to admit trans women into single-sex spaces provided that they are labelled “single-gender” or “trans-inclusive” rather than female-only.
The new code, which came into force on Wednesday, applies to organisations including services, public bodies and associations.
Former EHRC chair Baroness Falkner said the law is unlikely to be effective because it would remain “unenforced by the equalities regulator” due to a lack of funding.
The Good Law Project - a not-for-profit campaign group - has threatened the Government with legal action, stating it amounts to a “blanket prohibition on trans-inclusive gendered services”.
A government spokesperson told The Times: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment on ongoing legal proceedings — but everyone should follow the law.”
They said it “provides the clear, workable guidance they need and if organisations are still unclear, they should get specialist legal advice."