fbpx

Speak to a trained member of the Mermaids team. 08088010400

Blog — Write To Your MP

Mermaids Press

On Tuesday 10 May, the State Opening of Parliament takes place, and we’ll be watching to find out if the Government plans to keep its promise and ban conversion practices after years of delays. But why is the Queen involved? Who on earth is Black Rod? And what happens if the Government don’t #KeepTransInTheBan? Read on to find out more.  What is the State Opening of Parliament?  The State Opening of Parliament, also known as the Queen’s Speech, is a ceremonial event marking the start of the parliamentary year.  An extravagant affair, it usually begins with a procession from Buckingham…

Read news

Mermaids Press

The reforms are a significant step forward for trans rights as fundamentally, they acknowledge that trans people are who they say they are. The current system is unnecessarily bureaucratic, stigmatising and invasive, and consultations in both Scotland and the UK have shown overwhelming public support for change.

Read news

Mermaids Press

MPs show overwhelming support for GRA reform at Westminster. Kai O’Doherty (they/them), Head of Policy and Research at Mermaids, asks when will the Government act? On Monday 21 February 2022, Westminster held a debate on reform to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA), triggered by a petition signed by over 130,000 trans rights supporters. In addition to impassioned, supportive cross-party speeches from MPs, the Minister for Equalities, Mike Freer MP, committed the Government to some further specific reforms on language and spousal veto – but with the wider population’s overwhelming support for reform, both in and outside of the House,…

Read news

mermaids_writer

Proposed legislation has worrying implications for trans, non-binary and gender diverse people. Derwen Fay, who is genderfluid, shares their story I am concerned that the current mandatory voter ID proposals have the potential to disenfranchise and discourage many people from participating in the electoral process, a cornerstone of our democracy. In my opinion, the right to vote is one of the most important parts of our society, but these plans threaten to limit people from lower income backgrounds and the LGBTQIA+ community from participating in this process. There are many pitfalls within current proposals which I believe could be exclusionary…

Read news