The brevity of this was due to a limit of 2000 characters in the web form.

LD: Liberal Democrat, SC: Supreme Court, GRA2004: Gender Recognition Act 2004, ECHR: European Convention on Human Rights.

Date: Wed, 14 May 2025 16:51:36 +0100 From: Eleanor Clifford To: Lord Mark Pack Dear Mark Pack, I write to you as a LD member and as a trans woman. I was dismayed to learn that LD peers abstained from voting against the Data Bill amendment on "sex" and "acquired gender". This policy would make it impossible for trans people to move through the world with privacy and dignity. The records in question are highly visible, such as markers on ID, and an "acquired gender" marker would do little more than forcibly out trans people; it certainly wouldn't comply with the GRA2004, which clearly states:

if the acquired gender is the male gender, the person’s sex becomes that of a man and [likewise]

The GRA2004 was enacted due to an ECHR violation. This would cause another. Perhaps that is the point: another excuse to leave the ECHR? Trust in democracy by the trans community is at an all time low. Many consider petition signing to be an act of self harm, fueling transphobic rhetoric without policy change. Many were rightfully furious at the LD's weak response to the recent SC decision, reminiscent of Labour's slide into transphobia. I understand you may not have fully understood the situation before, but abstention further corrodes our credibility as a liberal party, and costs us the time and energy of a highly motivated group for whom politics is existential. I urge you to argue strongly against rhetoric that misrepresents trans people (and biology), and back it up by voting against policies like this. I will leave you with a comment that I do not make lightly, but with the full weight that it deserves. The consequences of this amendment are strongly reminiscent of the "pink triangle" the Nazis forced trans/queer people to wear. For me personally, it would be the step into fascism that compels me to flee the UK. We were the first targets of the Nazis, too—a fact often forgotten, as we were too hated to make it into the poems. I have the resources to flee. Many do not. I fear what would become of them. I look forward to your reply, Eleanor

Date: Fri, 23 May 2025 17:57:33 +0100 From: Lord Mark Pack To: Eleanor Clifford

Dear Eleanor,

Thank you for taking the time to get in touch and setting out your concerns so clearly.

I hope it is reassuring to explain that had the measure come to a vote again in the Lords, our group would have been whipped to join the government in voting it down. That did not happen because the proposers of the amendment saw defeat coming and decided not to push it again.

I can appreciate a little, I hope, how the party's approach on earlier stages could have caused you and other people concerns. They were though the necessary part of getting to being ready to officially oppose it at what would have been the crunch vote, which I hope is therefore reassuring.

Best wishes,

Mark