Lib Dems admit victimising member for upholding biological sex

The Liberal Democrats have admitted victimising a party member over her gender-critical beliefs.

Natalie Bird was subject to disciplinary action after wearing a top that defined a woman as an “Adult, Human, Female”. She was subsequently accused of sharing “transphobic material” and eventually suspended from the party.

After a three-and-a-half-year battle, the party now accepts that it discriminated against Bird because of her belief in biological reality.

Bullied

Bird’s legal claim, seen by The Daily Telegraph, states that she was bullied by party members “for expressing her views regarding biological sex and safe spaces for vulnerable women” and told she was “an ‘illiberal Terf’”.

She was also told that “if she did not agree that ‘trans women are women’, she should not be in the party at all”.

Following her suspension for attending a meeting wearing a T-shirt that displayed the gender-critical definition of the word ‘woman’, Bird lodged a complaint that she had been discriminated against “because of her philosophical beliefs”.

Despite having pursued her claim against the party since 2021, the Liberal Democrats have only recently admitted directly discriminating against her, and subjecting her to indirect victimisation and breach of contract.

Costs

In an online statement, the Liberal Democrats claimed: “On 22nd July, the County Court issued an order in a longstanding case that the party decided not to defend as it related to a complaints system that was replaced in September 2019.”

It went on to warn: “Transphobic behaviour – discrimination or harassment, hate speech or vilification, or other serious abuses of the right to freedom of expression – is a breach of our Members’ Code of Conduct and we have a robust disciplinary system to deal with it.”

The Telegraph reported that Bird is expected to be awarded thousands of pounds in damages at a forthcoming costs hearing.

Equality law

Earlier this year, the Liberal Democrats were reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over allegations a party candidate was deselected over his Christian views.

Award-winning former BBC journalist David Campanale had been the party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for the South London swing seat Sutton and Cheam, but after two years of campaigning LGBT activists within the party succeeded in having him deselected.

The prolonged period of hostility began after Campanale indicated his intention, if elected, to vote according to his conscience on non-whipped votes such as pro-life issues. But local party members told him “we do not recognise your right to have a conscience”.

In a letter to the EHRC, Campanale’s supporters called for an independent investigation into “multiple alleged breaches of equality law and our party constitution”.