Activist who is ‘a woman on Wednesdays’ on Labour list
A LOCAL Labour Party has reportedly allowed a man to be on the list of candidates for women’s officer because he “identifies as a woman on Wednesdays”, under their “self-id” rules.
In order to stand for the women-only position in Basingstoke, the candidate has to self-identify as a woman, but there are no other stipulations about gender. David Lewis, a Labour activist, told The Spectator he identifies as a woman “on Wednesdays, between 6.50am when my alarm goes off and around midnight when I go to bed”.
Some feminist activists have raised concerns about self-identification and have tried to bring a legal challenge against the Labour Party, saying where transgender women do not hold a gender recognition certificate, they should not be allowed to stand.
Mr Lewis said he stood to “inform the CLP [Constituency Labour Party], and maybe some other people, about what this policy means, about what happens when you say that someone’s gender depends only on what they say.”
The Labour Party and Basingstoke CLP were contacted for comment.