Live feed 20 May 2024 10.49 CEST Last year the Labour party revealed that it was dropping plans to allow people to change gender (by obtaining a gender recognition certificate) through so-called “self-ID”, without having to obtain a medical diagnosis. At the time Anneliese Dodds , the Labour chair and shadow minister for women and equalities, said Labour would still require medical evidence , but that the current process, which is long, complicated and seen as demeaning by trans people, would be simplified.
She said transitioning would no longer have to be approved by a panel, and that “a diagnosis provided by one doctor ...
should be enough”. In a story in the Times today, Geraldine Scott says Labour may allow a GP to approve an application for a gender recognition certificate. She says: The Times understands that one option under consideration is that the doctor could be a GP.
Labour would also remove the ability of a spouse to object to the change. A source said the party wanted to make the process “less medicalised” but added that the plans would retain the involvement of a doctor and would not allow people to self-identify in order to obtain legal changes. They said it had not yet been decided whether the medical professional would be a GP or a gender specialist, with the issue likely to go to consultation if the party wins the next election.
The discussions centre on concerns that if the single doctor was a specialist, a GP would still need to make the �.
