LGBTQ+ councillor quits Labour over puberty blockers ban: ‘We have let the trans community down’

An Exeter City Council member has resigned from the Labour Party following what they describe as the “grossly discriminatory decision” by the UK government to ban the use of puberty blockers.

A temporary ban on puberty blockers being prescribed to treat what the government describe as “gender incongruence or dysphoria in under 18s” was extended in August 2024 by Health Secretary Wes Streeting before being made indefinite in December 2024.

The ban came in the wake of the controversial Cass Review; an analysis of the gender care services for children and young people in the UK, which was published in April. NHS England commissioned paediatric expert Dr Hilary Cass to head the review in 2020, in response to the sharp rise in referrals to what was then England’s only youth gender clinic, London’s Tavistock Centre, which has since closed.

Following the report’s publication, it was criticised by many LGBTQ+ organisations, including leading trans healthcare bodies The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the US Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH), who published a statement accusing Cass officials of “intentionally and explicitly excluding any oversight from patients and their families and trans healthcare experts”, and claiming that the report’s “content is not supported by a robust methodology”. 

Councillor Zoë Hughes was elected as the Labour councillor for the Pennsylvania ward in May 2024, however, in January 2025 they dramatically quit the Labour Party due to its acceptance of “the extremely problematic Cass Review” and the subsequent puberty blockers ban, and will serve as an Independent.

In their wide-reaching statement, they slam the way trans people – particularly under-18s – have been treated in recent months, saying that the Labour Party “just want to discriminate against trans teenagers.”

Their statement is reproduced in full below:

“There is no LGB without the T for me, it is that simple”

“Today I informed the Leader of ECC of my decision to resign from the Labour Party, meaning that I will continue my remaining tenure as Exeter City Councillor as an Independent member. I would like to take this opportunity to reassure the residents of Pennsylvania that I will work even harder to support them, a task that will now be much easier for me.

“As a queer person, I have often felt alone and marginalised within society. However, I historically have felt that at least the Labour Party had my back – especially during Sir Ben Bradshaw’s many years as MP for Exeter. Hansard offers examples of Ben’s staunch support as a vocal trans ally in the House of Commons, including to trans children. As an active member of the National Education Union, I took my responsibility as a teacher to protect trans and non-binary students very seriously.

“I was nervous when Prime Minister Starmer suggested meeting with JK Rowling, to get “her opinion” – but I never believed as a party that Labour would blithely accept the extremely problematic Cass Review as the party line. The national party has ignored the mounting criticism of the Cass Review’s methodology, independence, and expertise by established and respected research centres and universities, medical professionals/organisations as well as advocacy groups.

“They just want to discriminate against trans teenagers”

“Health Secretary Wes Streeting, has nonetheless chosen to use this Conservative-commissioned document to make a grossly discriminatory decision that singles out and solely affects my younger trans siblings. Puberty blockers are still available on prescription for cis-gendered children experiencing precocious puberty. Ultimately, either Labour doesn’t care about cis kids’ safety, or they just want to discriminate against trans teenagers.

“Trans people have always existed. Trans children have always existed. They have been in classrooms and in our communities for the whole 25 years that I have been an educator, and they have sat in front of me in my therapy office desperately trying to be seen by the world for who they really are. To deny them life affirming and, in many cases, lifesaving puberty blockers is a policy I refuse to stand by and accept. This is not a Labour Party of which I wish to be a part.

“We have let the trans community down and I want no part of it – there is no LGB without the T for me, it is that simple.”

PinkNews has reached out to the Department of Health and the Labour Party press office for comment.