These inspiring trans and non-binary candidates stood for election – here’s how they fared
Various trans candidates were up for seats this election. (Getty/Twitter/X/Facebook)
So, Keir Starmer is the new prime minister after Labour’s landslide victory in Thursday’s (4 July) general election.
With two seats still to declare, Labour will have 412 MPs – reportedly too many for the number of places on the government benches in the House of Commons – with the Conservatives, who had a night to forget, trailing behind with 121.
Amid an increasingly hostile political tone around trans issues, several trans candidates refused to be cowed by the discourse and put their names forward for election. Here’s how they fared.
Emily Brothers – Labour, Isle of Wight East
Emily Brothers, who stood in Sutton and Cheam in 2015, secured 18.4 per cent of the vote share in Isle of Wight East which wasn’t enough to land her the seat.
Her 6,264 votes, a share change of -5.7 per cent, put her fourth, behind Greens candidate Vix Lowthion and Reform UK candidate Sarah Morris.
Conservative Joe Robertson won with 30.6 per cent of the vote share and 10,427 votes – still -26.8 per cent of the 2019 share.
Helen Belcher – Liberal Democrats, Reading West and Mid Berkshire
Liberal Democrat candidate and trans activist Helen Belcher, best-known for co-founding Trans Media Watch, dipped her toes in the political pool, campaigning in Reading West and Mid Berkshire.
She finished fourth with 11 per cent of the voter share and 5,103 votes – a down 5.9 per cent on the 2019 general election.
Labour’s Olivia Bailey romped to victory with 16,273 votes taking the seat from the Tories.
Charley Hasted – Liberal Democrats, Barking
Charley Hasted has long record of activism for disabled and LGBTQ+ people.
The Lib Dem candidate came sixth with 2.8 per cent of the vote share and 1,015 votes, behind Muhammad Asim, from the Workers Party of Britain. Nesil Caliskan held on to the East London seat for Labour with 16,227 votes.
Hasted thanked those who voted for them in a post, saying: “I didn’t stand to win, I stood to give you the chance to vote for a Liberal who reflects your values and to try to make sure Labour had to earn the votes they got.”
Rebecca Jones – Liberal Democrats, Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Liberal Democrat candidate Rebecca Jones was one of the younger political figures standing for election.
The 21-year-old’s promises to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and “fix the NHS” weren’t enough to win – perhaps not surprising given she was facing Labour veteran and serial winner Diane Abbott.
Jones came fourth with 1,562 votes at 3.8 per cent of the vote share, just ahead of Reform UK. Abbott, who has held the seat since 1987, scooped up almost 60 per cent of the vote share with 24,355 votes.
Cadewyn Skelley – Plaid Cymru, Cardiff East
Plaid Cymru’s Cadewyn Skelley announced in March that they would be running in Cardiff East, saying they would be the change from Labour and the Conservatives.
With 3,550 votes at 9.1 per cent of the vote share, they came sixth – some way adrift of Labour’s Jo Stevens whose 15,833 votes ensured Labour held the seat.
Jen Bell – Greens, Paisley and Renfrewshire North
Labour stormed to victory in Paisley and Renfrewshire North with 19,561 votes, giving them 47.1 per cent of the vote as Alison Taylor took the seat from the SNP.
That left trans Scottish Greens candidate and co-convenor Jen Bell languishing in fifth place, but their 1,469 votes – 3.5 per cent – allowed them to finish ahead of the Lib Dems.
Bell thanked campaigners and the voters in a post on social media, saying it has been “the privilege of my life” to run.
Iris Duane – Greens, Glasgow North
Twenty-one-year-old Iris Duane of the Scottish Greens came third with 12.2 per cent of the vote and 4,233 votes, beating the Conservative, Reform UK, Liberal Democrats and Alba candidates.
Martin Rhodes won the seat. His 14,655 votes, a42.2 per cent of the vote share, ensured Labour took the former SNP seat.
Duane thanked those who had voted for her, saying that she “didn’t even think I’d live to 21, yet I’ve ran for parliament and got the best result ever”.
Sophie Molly – Independent, Aberdeen South
Sophie Molly became an independent candidate shortly after her removal from the Scottish Greens over tweets she had made several years before.
She was another candidate looking at an uphill battle: she was facing Stephen Flynn, the leader of the SNP at Westminster.
Molly finished eighth and last with just 225 votes, 0.5 per cent.
Flynn finished almost 4,000 ahead of Labour and the Conservatives, with 32.8 per cent of the votes, to ensure his party held on to the seat.
