The Liberal Democrats have admitted discriminating against a mother who was barred from standing as an MP after wearing a T-shirt reading: “Woman: Adult, Human, Female”, reports The Telegraph.
Natalie Bird says she was suspended from the party after being “harrassed” and “smeared” by activists because she fought for women’s rights and expressed her opinion that it is not possible for a person to change sex.
After a three-and-a-half-year legal battle, the party admitted Ms Bird’s claims at the 11th hour before the trial was due to begin next month.
Ms Bird, a domestic abuse survivor who has fought for women-only spaces such as refuges, was first targeted by trans activists in Nov 2017 after she was elected co-chair of the party’s Radical Association.
According to the legal claim, Ms Bird “was bullied by other members of the executive of the Radical Association for expressing her views regarding biological sex and safe spaces for vulnerable women. She was told that she was an ‘illiberal Terf’.” (Terf stands for Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist and is often used as a slur against those with gender-critical views).
Source: Lib Dems admit discriminating against gender-critical candidate – The Free Speech Union