Steph Richards’ Speech at the Labour Party Conference.

Steph Richards’ Speech at the Labour Party Conference.

On Tuesday, 30th September, our CEO, Steph Richards, spoke at a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference alongside some fifteen MPs and trade union general secretaries. It was warmly accepted – not for the first time, Steph got a standing ovation. This is what she said.

“Firstly, I want to thank Alex for inviting me to speak.

Let’s be honest: life is tough right now. For people of colour. For people of certain faiths. And for trans people. But we must not let the forces of hate win.

This country—our country—has long been built on the principles of welcome and acceptance. We’ve been known globally for our “live and let live” spirit. That legacy is worth defending.

I cannot speak for refugees. Nor am I persecuted for my faith. But I do know what it means to be trans in today’s Britain.

We are being othered.

Around half of my community is afraid to leave their homes. Many of us worry about something as basic as using a public toilet.

I transitioned to live as my true self. After fifty years of gender dysphoria, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts, I found peace. But in doing so, I also came face-to-face with transphobia.

I began my transition fifteen years ago. Like so many others, it took a decade to access gender-affirming surgery. Five years ago, I started a blog about my journey. The prejudice and discrimination I encountered were immediate—and I knew I had to act. That’s how TransLucent was born.

We started with just five people. We were the first to expose the EHRC as a gender-critical body, repurposed by Liz Truss to fuel a cruel culture war against trans people….just 0.5% of the population. A war our Labour Government has failed to understand.

In 2022, we won LGBT Organisation of the Year at the National Diversity Awards. Today, I’m proud to lead a team of twenty-five incredible colleagues—including trans man icon Professor Stephen Whittle OBE and trans barrister Robin Moira White. Our patron is Lord Michael Cashman, one of Stonewall’s founders.

Stephen tells me the last time a trans-led organisation exhibited at Labour Party Conference was in 1997. Today, TransLucent is here—at stand B2—speaking to politicians about real, positive action for trans equality. And we’re not just talking. We’re in court, fighting for fundamental human rights.

We are all volunteers. Our biggest challenge is day-to-day funding. We don’t have JK Rowling or access to American Christian Nationalist coffers. But we do have resolve.

Today, we see “freedom of speech” weaponised as a cloak for division.

Trans women are vilified by the gender-critical ideology movement and their media as dangers to women’s safety, dignity, and privacy.

We know these are lies.

We are proud of our country. Proud of our diversity. Proud of our flag. But not when it’s hijacked by the far-right to sow fear and exclusion.

Martin Niemöller, who stood against the Nazi regime, warned us of the cost of silence: “First they came for the socialists…” You know the rest.

That warning echoes through history—and it echoes now.

But we are not powerless.

Because when we rise up… speak out… and stand together… We become the antidote. We become the future.

Thank you so much.”

Steph Richards’ Speech at the Labour Party Conference.