Welsh Assembly Member banned for criticising extreme transgender rights activism

Dec 18, 2017 by

from Christian Concern:

Carys Moseley reports that the Welsh Assembly has become the first legislature in the western world to ban an elected politician from speaking for criticising transgender identification. Gareth Bennett from UKIP criticised the UK government’s proposals to amend the Gender Recognition Act to make changing gender easier. His comments that transgender people ‘deviate from the norm’ were deemed hate speech by the Presiding Officer. This is an unprecedented attack on free speech in politics and on democracy and may act as a bar to office to those who deem transgenderism abnormal. There is a real need for politicians to show moral courage and wisdom in speaking out on this matter, and to listen to serious concerns about policy proposals.


The Welsh Assembly has become the first legislature in the western world to ban a politician from its chamber for being critical of transgender activism and self-identification of gender. Yesterday Gareth Bennett, UKIP Assembly Member for South Wales Central was banned by the Presiding Officer Elin Jones, Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for Ceredigion, from further debate in the Assembly in 2018 until he apologised. Whilst the Welsh government has no power to amend the Gender Recognition Act, it does have power over the NHS, education, and public toilets, to name three relevant policy areas affected, so this act of censorship is of real significance. All who are concerned about the ongoing march of transgender ideology through our institutions should watch this unfolding crisis closely.

On Wednesday 13th of December, Joyce Watson, a Labour Assembly Member asked that Mr Bennett be forced to apologise for ‘homophobic comments’made in the Assembly the previous day. Actually Mr Bennett had not referred explicitly to gay or lesbian people at all. He was critical of the current activism over transgender rights and the UK government’s proposals to make gender recognition easier. He refused to apologise for his comments, which the Presiding Officer deemed ‘particularly hateful to the transgender community’.

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