Former Bishopston candidate resigns from Labour committee in solidarity with trans community

A candidate who ran for Bishopston and Ashley Down in May’s local elections has issued a resignation notice over issues with transphobia in the party.

In an open letter, Joe Rayment explained his reasons for standing down from the Bristol West Labour Executive Committee, saying he cannot support his local MP or party leader.

Rayment was elected onto the constituency Labour Party’s (CLP) ‘unity team’ on a platform of uniting the local party – which has been notoriously fractious in recent years – but said he felt he was left with no choice but to resign.

The former councillor candidate for Bishopston & Ashley Down said in his resignation letter that members of the committee, with whom he had previously stood on a slate with, had been “stating known transphobic tropes” in a recent debate.

He went on to say: “It has become clear to me in further conversations that those views are entrenched and that there are members of the executive committee who wilfully defend or ignore transphobia.”

While Rayment makes it clear that “there are members of the executive committee who are vociferous in their defence of trans people, trans rights and trans liberation”, his resignation letter also states that his frustrations expand far beyond the Bristol West Party group.

Rayment, a vocal supporter of trans rights, criticised Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire and Labour leader Keir Starmer for inaction on transphobia.

In particular, he cites Starmer’s failure to take action against Labour MP Rosie Duffield, saying: “Keir’s abject failure to take any action of Rosie Duffield’s unrelenting and progressively more blatant transphobia is a sign of either his cowardice or his assent to transphobia being welcomed in the Labour Party.”

Thangam Debbonaire and Keir Starmer have been criticised for their inaction – photo: Thangam Debbonaire

The anonymous member referred to in Rayment’s resignation letter responded to his statement on social media and criticised his pro-trans stance.

This is about *me*. The vote by @bristolwestlab to sanction me for wrongthink wasn’t unanimous, so Joe resigned, calling all women bigots. This is your daily reminder that no amount of prostration and submission will ever enough for the gender cult.#WarOnWomen#SexMatters https://t.co/9Uo6zhaXZK

— Andi? (@AndiAbides) August 6, 2021

Online responses to Rayment’s resignation have been overwhelmingly positive.

A small number of detractors have questioned the validity of Rayment’s allegations or suggested that he is overreacting to the incidents he describes and others have labelled his support of transgender women as “misogyny”. But many trans and non-binary people have thanked him for his support and allyship.

Labour’s South West regional office and the office of Thangam Debbonaire were contacted for comment.

Main photo by Nicky Ebbage

Read More: ‘I’m proud that Bristol’s LGBTQ+ community have, for generations, enriched the life of our city’