Oxford MP Anneliese Dodds' JLM Conference remark is slammed

The Labour politician made the remark at a Jewish Labour Movement conference on Sunday.

Some were quick to criticise the politician for her perceived lack of "commitment to transgender rights".

Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate, Theo Jupp, said: "It saddens me to hear Anneliese Dodds imply the dignity of transgender people poses a threat to cisgender women.

READ MORE: Tories set for electoral wipeout in Oxfordshire - YouGov poll

"As far as women’s single-sex spaces are concerned, it’s important to bear in mind that the people seeking support are women — trans or not — who have often been the victims of sexual assault or domestic abuse at the hands of men.

Prospective parliamentary candidate, Theo Jupp. (Image: Theo Jupp.)

"As a party, we believe it is critically important for all women to be able to get the support they need in such circumstances.

"Legislating to ban transgender people from the appropriate space for them — as some Labour figures have advocated — makes that harder to achieve."

A spokesman for Anneliese Dodds said regarding her comment: "This comment is supportive of the Labour Party policy.

"It is about enabling space.

"If people want to remain in a single-sex space and there is legitimate reason, such as for domestic abuse refuge, they can."

Anneliese Dodds previously stated in an article for the Guardian: "We need to recognise that sex and gender are different – as the Equality Act does.

"We will make sure that nothing in our modernised gender recognition process would override the single-sex exemptions in the Equality Act.

Oxford Pride, 2022.

"Put simply, this means that there will always be places where it is reasonable for biological women only to have access.

"Labour will defend those spaces, providing legal clarity for the providers of single-sex services."

Some people took to social media to express their dislike at the conference remarks.

One user commented: "I don't want to see the Labour Party at any Pride" and another added "We really are going backwards - is there anything Keir is not scrapping?".

Someone else said: "What is the point of this party?"

Senior Conservatives have been generally more hesitant on transgender issues with equalities minister Kemi Badenoch suggesting "gender-affirming care for children" could be considered "a new form of conversion therapy”.

Equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch.

The Jewish Labour Movement, where Ms Dodds made the comment, is a formal affiliate of the Labour Party which is also affiliated with the Zionist Federation of the UK and the World Zionist Organisation.

Its object is to "maintain and promote Labour or Socialist Zionism as the movement for self-determination of the Jewish people within the state of Israel".

Ms Dodd's attendance of the conference comes amidst the resignation of 10 city councillors from the Labour Party in Oxford due to the party's stance around conflict in Gaza.