A large majority of the British public support transgender people having the right to “self-identify” and choose their own gender, a new poll has found.
The survey shows that women are particularly supportive of trans rights, with 57 per cent in favour and just 21 opposed, according to the survey conducted by YouGov.
The findings come after Boris Johnson reportedly decided to shelve planned reforms to the Gender Recognition Act that would have made legal process of changing one’s gender less onerous.
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Overall 50 per cent of the British public support self-identification with 27 per cent saying they are opposed and 23 per cent saying they don’t know.
Support for self-ID is positive across all genders, social classes, regions of the UK, and age groups – though younger people support it more strongly.
The minority opposed to the idea is larger among older age groups: 18-24 year olds 64 per cent support self-ID with just 14 opposed. 57 per cent of 25-49 year-olds are in favour and 45 per cent of 50-64 year olds. The 65+ age group narrowly supports self-ID by 35 per cent to 34 per cent.
The strongest predictor of being opposed to trans rights is being a Tory, with 42 per cent of 2019 Conservative voters saying they oppose self-ID and 35 per cent in favour. The only other demographic in the breakdown provided by YouGov opposed is Leave voters, who narrowly oppose self-ID by 39 to 41 per cent.
Labour voters are 70 per cent in favour and 13 per cent oppose and Lib Dems at 63 per cent in favour and 16 per cent opposed.
Despite claims from some commentators that the issue is a solely a concern of the middle class, opposition is identical across NRS social grades, with 27 per cent opposed in both ABC1 and C2DE categories – categories sometimes framed as middle class and working class respectively.
The poll, conducted at the end of June 2020, was commissioned by the Pink News website and asked “Do you think a person should or should not be able to self-identify as a gender different to the one they were born in?”
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It showed a small shift in public support away from an identical question asked in 2019, which preceded a backlash against the plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act in the British media. In that poll, 56 per cent supported self-ID and 23 per cent opposed it.
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1/50 12 July 2020
West Indies’s John Campbell and Jason Holder celebrate winning the test as England’s Rory Burns and teammates look on dejected
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2/50 11 July 2020
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3/50 10 July 2020
People gather for the funeral of Dame Vera Lynn in Ditchling, England. During World War II she travelled to the frontlines, including Burma, entertaining British troops and boosting morale. She died on 18 June at her home in West Sussex
Getty
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Artist Anish Kapoor looks into his sculpture ‘Sky Mirror’ at Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, ahead of the opening of his largest UK exhibition of outdoor sculptures
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5/50 8 July 2020
Players take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton
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6/50 7 July 2020
A circus performer from the Association of Circus Proprietors in Whitehall, London. The association handed a petition to Downing Street to ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow circuses to reopen
EPA
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Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, which re-opened to the public after being closed due to the coronavirus lockdown
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16/50 27 June 2020
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17/50 26 June 2020
Police at the scene of an incident at the Park Inn Hotel in central Glasgow. Scottish police said armed officers shot dead a man after a suspected stabbing in the city centre left six others injured, including one of their colleagues. Several roads were closed and the surrounding area was cordoned off
AFP via Getty
18/50 25 June 2020
A horse is washed down at Haydock Racecourse
PA
19/50 24 June 2020
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20/50 23 June 2020
Tony Bennett the owner of The Devereux pub in Temple, London. Pub and hospitality bosses have cheered the Government’s proposals to allow customers through their doors again on July 4 as “a welcome relief”. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 23, 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that pubs, restaurants and cinemas will be able to reopen from July 4, with “one metre-plus” distancing measures in place
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21/50 22 June 2020
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22/50 21 June 2020
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Action Images via Reuters
23/50 20 June 2020
Arsenal’s midfielder Nicolas Pepe kneels before the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in southern England
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24/50 19 June 2020
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25/50 18 June 2020
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AP
27/50 16 June 2020
Motakhayyel ridden by Jim Crowley, right, wins the Buckingham Palace Handicap during day one of Royal Ascot. This year, the flat racing’s biggest meeting, is behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak
PA
28/50 15 June 2020
Queues form at Primark at the Rushden Lakes shopping complex after the government relaxed coronavirus lockdown laws significantly, allowing zoos, safari parks and non-essential shops to open to visitors
Getty
29/50 14 June 2020
A man kneels at a commemoration to mark the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. The fire claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017
PA
30/50 13 June 2020
Protesters confront police in Whitehall near Parliament Square, during a protest by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance
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31/50 12 June 2020
A Black Lives Matter supporter sings to crowds who marched with her in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in London. The death of an African American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
32/50 11 June 2020
Scouts show their support at the Lord Baden-Powell statue in Poole. The statue of Robert Baden-Powell on Poole Quay is to be placed in “safe storage” following concerns about his racial views
Getty
33/50 10 June 2020
Social distancing markers around the penguin enclosure at London Zoo. Staff have been preparing and are now ready for reopening next week with new signage, one-way trails for visitors to follow, and extra handwashing and sanitiser stations in place
PA
34/50 9 June 2020
Protestors hold placards and shout slogans during during a protest called by the Rhodes Must Fall campaign calling for the removal of the statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes outside Oriel College, at the University of Oxford
AFP via Getty
35/50 8 June 2020
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PA
36/50 7 June 2020
The Edward Colston statue has been pulled down by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol. Colston was a 17th century slave trader who has numerous landmarks named after him in Bristol
SWNS
37/50 6 June 2020
Children pose for their family in front of discarded placards fixed on a wall in Piccadilly Gardens after a Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Manchester. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
38/50 5 June 2020
Protesters kneel in Trafalgar Square during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
39/50 4 June 2020
Protestors march from Windsor Castle in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement
Getty
40/50 3 June 2020
People wearing face masks hold banners in Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis
Reuters
41/50 2 June 2020
Street artist Nath Murdoch touches up his anti-racism mural in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
PA
42/50 1 June 2020
Customers socially distance themselves as they queue to enter Ikea in Warrington. The store opening saw large queues of people and traffic on adjacent roads as it reopened after the lockdown. The furniture and housewares chain reopened its stores across England and Northern Ireland subject to several restrictions, keeping its restaurants closed and asking customers to shop alone
Getty
43/50 31 May 2020
A man wearing a protective face mask kneels in front of police officers during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd near the U.S. Embassy, London, Britai
Reuters
44/50 30 May 2020
Visitors at Grassholme Reservoir in Lunedale, Co Durham are able to cross an ancient packhorse bridge as work on the dam wall means water levels have dropped signifcantly to reveal this monument of the pas
UK
45/50 29 May 2020
British Tennis player Maia Lumsden in action at Bridge of Allan Tennis Club. People can meet family and friends outdoors and play sports such as golf and tennis again as the country is moving into phase one of the Scottish Government’s plan for gradually lifting lockdown
PA
46/50 28 May 2020
A police frogman, searches for a weapon in Abington Lake in in Northampton
Getty
47/50 27 May 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears before the Liaison Committee via Zoom from the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street, amid the coronavirus
10 Downing Street/Reuters
48/50 26 May 2020
Members of the public relax on the beach at Botany Bay in Margate
Getty
49/50 25 May 2020
Dominic Cummings, senior aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, makes a statement inside 10 Downing Street, London, over allegations he breached coronavirus lockdown restrictions
AP
50/50 24 May 2020
A demonstrator holds a sign reading ‘Why are you above the law?’ outside the house of Dominic Cummings in London, following allegations Cummings broke coronavirus lockdown rules by travelling across the country
Reuters
As prime minister Theresa May moved to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow people to identify their own gender rather than seek a doctor’s consent, but 18 months after the government’s consultation closed nothing has been formally announced. Ms May described the current process as “intrusive” and “bureaucratic”.
In June a coalition of the LGBT+ groups from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland said they “stand united” in their firm support for the transgender community.
The groups wrote to equalities minister Liz Truss and said the delays had led to “continuous scaremongering and vilification in the media”.
