A former Oldham MP and North West MEP has called on the Liberal Democrats to allow a group which has been described as ‘anti-trans’ to attend the party’s annual conference.

Speaking to The Oldham Times, Chris Davies added he couldn’t understand how anyone could understand their sexuality before going through puberty and questioned whether more people coming out as trans was part of a ‘social media trend.’

Mr Davies, MP for Littleborough and Saddleworth from 1995 to 1997, was one of 94 members who signed the letter, addressed to the party’s chief executive.

He was also MEP for North West England from 1999 to 2014, and from 2019 until the role was abolished in 2020, following Brexit.

In the letter, members express their ‘alarm and dismay’ about ‘cancel culture’ in the political party and implore leadership to allow registered charities the LGB Alliance and FiLiA to attend.

The letter, also signed by three peers, goes on to implore the party to allow the groups to attend the party conference after their bookings were “inexplicably cancelled.”

Mr Davies said: “As I understand it, the party has rejected applications from two organisations: one the LGB Alliance, and another a feminist organisation – until this afternoon, when I looked it up, I hadn’t heard of it.

“But I don’t understand why a Liberal party objects to hearing these views.”

Mr Davies went on to say he suspected the reason the groups had been barred from the conference is that some in the party are accusing the groups of being transphobic but added both organisations reject this claim.

He said: “I don’t have any evidence at all that they’re transphobic, they just disagree with some of the positions being taken by the Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party, and the SNP.”

The LGB Alliance, which states it is the “only UK charity to focus exclusively on supporting lesbian, gay and bisexual people” has been described as ‘anti-trans’ by charity Hope not Hate and the Trade Union Congress, among others.

In April 2021, more than 50 UK Pride groups, including Oldham Pride, signed an open letter opposing the group’s approval to be registered as a charity, accusing the organisation of trying to “block trans rights”.

A blog post on FiLiA’s website states that a “conflict that exists between transgenderism and sex-based women’s rights”.

Asked whether he agreed that trans women are women, Mr Davies said: “There’s no question that trans women are women, so long as they have complied with the Gender Equality Act.

“So that they have been certified by a doctor as suffering from gender dysphoria and have lived for two years lived in the body of a person of a different biological sex.

“From a legal point of view there’s no question that a trans woman is a woman, but the legal point of view doesn’t take account of every issue.”

However, he questioned whether “biological males who have self-declared as women should be allowed into women’s prisons or women’s refuges”.

The Oldham Times: Chris Davies. Photo: Andy Mabbett, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0.Chris Davies. Photo: Andy Mabbett, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0.

Mr Davies went on to question how anyone could identify as LGBT+ prior to going through puberty, adding: “I don’t understand how anyone can truly appreciate their sexuality or sexual preferences until they’ve been through puberty.

“Because puberty is a time when you have an enormous rush of hormones. It’s a life-changing period of time.”

The former MP also theorised that social media had a role in an increasing number of people identifying as trans, adding: “You do wonder – given the explosion in the number of young people seeking treatment for alleged gender disorders to what extent it’s a social media trend.

“There are just too many issues of concern.”

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said: “We look forward to our conference and the long-standing tradition in our party to hold open and democratic debates about all sorts of issues. 

“This year’s conference will be no different.”

Kate Harris, co-founder of LGB Alliance, said: "We are pleased that many Lib Dems support our belief in the importance of a plurality of views in politics.

“It is disappointing that the leadership prefers to believe the LGBTQIA+ conspiracy theorists within the party who refuse any dialogue on issues directly affecting LGB people.

“LGB Alliance is a registered charity working hard to protect and promote LGB rights and freedom of expression.

“We endeavour to build bridges with all political parties and hope that the decision to exclude us from Conference will be reversed.”

FiLiA did not respond to a request for comment.

The full letter can be read here.

This article has been updated to clarify that a quote is from a blog post on FiLiA’s website.