Bill to Prevent Gender Transitioning In Schools Rejected

Laurence Fox (L) and Andrew Bridgen ahead of a Reclaim Party press conference in London, dated May 10, 2023. (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

Tory MPs joined forces with Labour to vote against a bill that sought to forbid social transitioning practices in schools.

The Reclaim Party MP Andrew Bridgen’s attempt to use a ten-minute rule motion to introduce a bill on gender and parental rights in schools to the House was thwarted by Labour and Conservative MPs.

Social transitioning refers to a process where transgender people with gender dysphoria ask/demand others to affirm their appearance, name, gender and which pronouns they prefer.

At the House of Commons on Tuesday, Bridgen said his proposed bill would “prohibit the promotion of social transition practices in schools,” require schools to inform parents “if their child has indicated an intention to pursue or has commenced social transition” and give parents the right to access information about sex education lessons in schools.

“Social transition in children will be forbidden. The promotion of social transitioning and the discussion of social transitioning practices would be prohibited from appearing on any aspect of a school curriculum,” he said.

The MP added: “Where gender identity is taught, it will be taught alongside opposing views to allow for a fair presentation of political beliefs.”

“Under all our noses, members of society, either politically or educationally tasked with helping bring up our children have turned raising the next generation into a science experiment with consequences that break my heart.”

“Social transition practices in school have now become the norm in every classroom in the country,” he warned, adding: “Gender ideology is a political ideology. One that has been effectively promoted in schools, and therefore constitutes political indoctrination.”

However, MPs voted by 40 votes to 34, majority six, to block the Bill being introduced.

‘Concerted Effort’

Andrew Bridgen in a photo issued on Jan. 11, 2023. (PA)

Bridgen told The Epoch Times that those who voted against Bill were “actually voting against the law as it stands today.”

Former Conservative Bridgen joined Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party in May to take on “wokery” and “groupthink.”

“I think the government didn’t want my bill to go through, they told all the payroll vote to vote against it all or not to vote and that obviously takes half the Conservative vote away,” he said.

A “payroll vote” refers to Members of Parliament who can be counted on by the government to consistently vote in favour of their policies without question. It is also rare for bills put forward by backbenchers (Private Members’ Bills) to become Acts of Parliament, such bills are an attempt to make an impact on government policy.

“It was a concerted effort,” claimed Bridgen.

Bridgen added it was “disingenuous” to conflate gay and lesbian rights to transitioning “which is a completely different thing.”

“There was nothing in my bill that isn’t actually already the law. I actually want what we’ve currently got enforced,” he said.

Bridgen said that he would still be pursuing the matter to stop the “indoctrination” of children in schools and for the rights of parents to see the materials their children are being taught.

Conservative MPs

Labour MPs including former minister Ben Bradshaw and Stella Creasy joined ten Conservative MPs Caroline Noakes, Crispin Blunt, Elliot Colburn, Mark Fletcher, Peter Gibson, Paul Holmes, Alicia Kearns, David Mundell, Nicola Richards and Jacob Young in voting down the bill.

Bradshaw told the Commons “trans and non-binary people have always existed“ and that ”gender dysphoria“ has been an ”internationally-recognised condition for decades.”

“Schools have become very experienced at handling social transitioning with both sensitivity and professionalism.

“The impact of this bill would turn the clock back to an age in which the very existence of trans and non-binary people, a tiny minority, was simply not acknowledged.”

He added, “Parents would face the impossible choice of forcing their child to continue living in the gender they no longer identify with, with all the negative, often devastating on that child’s mental health, or removing them from school and educating them at home.”

British Actor Laurence Fox, who stars as Hunter Biden in the movie 'My Son Hunter,' speaks with EpochTV's 'American Thought Leaders' on Sept. 20, 2022. (The Epoch Times)

‘Parents, or the state?’

On Twitter, Laurence Fox asked Labour MP Stella Creasy “Who should be charged with the safety of children?”

“Parents, or the state? Perhaps you should ask parents what they feel, rather than disregarding them completely and imposing anti-family measures from the top down. This isn’t China, or North Korea,” he wrote.

“This is Great Britain. Parents are best placed to support and nurture their children,” he added.

Creasy responded to Fox by saying: “Unless you actually think no parent can ever do wrong by a child am going to go out on a limb here and point out it’s not an either-or, everyone can play a role safeguarding kids, especially from those obsessed with trying to tell them what to do or be.”

In a paper published in May, the London-based Policy Exchange think tank said that most secondary schools are failing to tell parents if their child wants to identify as another gender.

It found that schools are not reliably informing parents as soon as a pupil expresses the wish to change gender. This means that because of a school’s “Self-ID” policy, the first time a parent is informed of their child’s transition is on a letter home, where the child’s new name is referenced.

The Epoch Times contacted the leader of the House of Commons for comment.

PA Media contributed to this report.