The Liberal Democrats’ support for trans rights has been heavily criticised for lacking ‘understanding or compassion for girls and women’ – by the party leader’s own brother.
Charles Davey criticised his younger brother Sir Ed for his stance towards single-sex spaces in the wake of a new code of conduct drawn up by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
The code confirmed a service must be used on the basis of biological sex in order for it to be classed as single-sex under the Equality Act, as per a groundbreaking Supreme Court ruling in 2025.
This means single-sex toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards and refuges must be used based on a person’s birth sex, rather than the gender with which they identify.
In the wake of its publication, Sir Ed and Lib Dem women and equalities spokeswoman Marie Goldman wrote to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson saying the document ‘does not provide clear guidance, it does not do enough to protect everyone from discrimination and harassment and it is not compatible with longstanding British values’.
But in a rebuke to his sibling on LinkedIn, Charles, a barrister and women’s rights campaigner, suggested his letter was motivated by a fear of defections to the Greens.
‘Opposition to single sex spaces demonstrates a sad lack of insight, understanding or compassion for girls and women in a society tainted by violence against girls and women,’ he wrote.
‘About a third of women have suffered from sexual abuse, as children or adults, almost always by a person born male.
Charles Davey criticised his younger brother Sir Ed for his stance towards single-sex spaces in the wake of a new code of conduct drawn up by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission
But in a rebuke to his sibling on LinkedIn, Charles Davey suggested his letter was motivated by a fear of defections to the Greens
‘Single sex spaces are spaces in which women can feel safe. It does not matter if the transgender woman is the most wholesome person in the world. That misses the point.’
He added: ‘To be fair to my brother, and his leadership team, they must be worried.
‘If the leadership were to support women’s rights to single-sex spaces, they could well face defections to the Greens, though some trans-activists will stay with the Lib Dems in the forlorn hope that the next election might see a coalition government between the two parties. Where did I put my passport?’
The commission’s updated guidance was published in May, more than a year after a landmark Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 which said the words ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
The code of practice for services, public functions and associations, which runs to more than 300 pages, covers nine protected characteristics including age, sex, disability, race and gender reassignment, and has been updated in full for the first time since 2011.
It is aimed at guiding businesses and other organisations such as leisure centres and hospitals on how they can follow equality law, including in provision of single and separate-sex services such as toilets and changing rooms.
It suggests it can be deemed legitimate, in limited circumstances, to ask someone to confirm what their sex is but that this must be done ‘as sensitively as possible, and must respect their privacy’.
In the letter, Sir Ed and Ms Goldman wrote: ‘We do not believe that the new code of practice is fit for purpose. It does not provide clear and workable guidance, and it does not do enough to protect everyone from discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
‘We do not believe that this guidance is compatible with the long-standing British values we hold dear: tolerance, decency, respect for individual liberty and the rule of law.
‘We do not want to become a country where people are barred from accessing essential services simply for who they are, or where women are asked to prove that they are women, just to go about their lives.’
His stance has already been criticised by party campaign group Liberal Voice for Women.
Its chairwoman Dr Zoe Hollowood said: ‘Charles Davey has hit the nail on the head. Ed Davey previously claimed the Liberal Democrats were on a ”learning curve”. but instead of learning, the party leadership has backtracked into equivocation on women’s rights.
‘There is a glaring hypocrisy at play here: you cannot claim to ‘uphold the Equality Act’ and ‘accept’ the Supreme Court’s judgment, while simultaneously trying to block the very Code of Practice designed to help people comply with that law.
‘By trying to veto guidance that clarifies the provision of single-sex spaces, the Lib Dems are turning their backs on vulnerable women and girls.
‘The party leader’s own brother has pointed out that a powerful faction within the party is overriding basic compassion and insight for women. What more will it take for Ed Davey to stand up to this faction?’
A spokeswoman for Sir Ed said he ‘understands his brother has held a number of views that are different from his over many years and has always respected him for that’.
