Starmer says he will outlaw all conversion therapies

SIR KEIR STARMER has vowed to outlaw all forms of conversion therapy if Labour wins the election.

The Labour leader said his ban would be “trans inclusive”, meaning it would ban attempts to change someone’s gender identity as well as their sexuality through conversion therapy.

The Tories have raised concerns that a ban on trying to persuade children not to change their gender identity could criminalise parents, teachers and doctors and warn that Sir Keir’s ban would not include protections for these groups, who could end up in court for merely questioning children.

Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, has also claimed that trying to persuade children to change gender in the first place was a new form of conversion therapy, a view unlikely to be supported by Labour.

Speaking at an LGBT+ Labour meeting on Monday night, Sir Keir said: “We’ll implement a full, transinclusive ban on all forms of conversion therapy. We fully support the view that conversion therapy is psychologically damaging abuse.”

He also repeated Labour’s plan to toughen up sentencing guidelines for abuse and violence targeted at transgender people. By making attacks motivated by hatred of the victim’s gender identity an “aggravated offence”, the offences will be punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment. This is in line with offences targeting people on grounds of their race or religion.

“We’ll strengthen the law, so every category of hate crime is treated as an aggravated offence,” Sir Keir told the meeting, according to remarks obtained by magazine.