LGBT Foundation are delighted to see that mayors of four of the largest metropolitan areas in the country have joined together to call on the government to continue to press ahead with reform of the Gender Recognition Act (2004).

In a letter on Thursday to the Rt Hon. Penny Mordaunt MP, Minister for Women and Equalities, the mayors called for the government to listen to people from the trans and non-binary communities and continue to proceed with reforming the legislation. The letter was signed by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram and Mayor of Sheffield City Region Dan Jarvis. Together they represent over 14 million constituents.

The letter called for the government to proceed with implementing the “desperately-needed reforms” as quickly as possible, and to bring the U.K. in line with the international standard of best practice set in countries such as Ireland, Denmark and Norway. The letter highlighted the potential of GRA reform to transform the lives of trans and non-binary people.

Paul Martin OBE, Chief Executive of LGBT Foundation, says:

“"We are delighted to see that four mayors from some of our the country’s biggest metropolitan areas have joined together to make such a strong statement of support for their trans and non-binary constituents. In these turbulent political times, it can be easy to forget that the everyday business of government must continue. The Gender Recognition Act is outdated, and is in need of urgent reform to meet the needs of the communities it was originally designed to support. We look forward to the upcoming announcement, and call on the government to allow trans people to legally change their gender by self-declaration, introduce legal recognition for non-binary people, and improve inclusion for young trans people.”

The full letter can be found here