UK’s First Trans MP: a Conundrum for the Conservative Party?

 UK’s First Trans MP: a Conundrum for the Conservative Party?

Earlier this year, Jamie Wallis MP came out as transgender. Following a car crash in late November 2021, he described his reaction to the incident as being linked to his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which he developed as a result of blackmail and rape. Wallis is an MP for the Conservative Party, having unseated Labour’s 30-year hold on the Bridgend constituency. This, combined with his transness, makes for a rather unusual situation for the Conservative Party at large, having spent the last twelve years introducing policies that have had a negative impact on the transgender community in the United Kingdom. 

Wallis, in an interview with Sky News said that he wishes to transition as ‘quick as possible’ but also mentions that the process will be ‘challenging and difficult’ with ‘lots of hurdles’. Additionally, he mentioned that  ‘it's not going to be done overnight, it's going to take many, many years’. These comments are very interesting given the current state the Conservative government has left Gender Identity services in. 

The Conservatives, like their name implies, act to ‘conserve’ the current state of things. As a rule, they do not generally pursue new and progressive policies or social justice outcomes. Instead, they prefer to ‘put off’ social change until the last moment- in which they suddenly change tact and usher in the progressive policy as if they had never dug their heels in and opposed it at all. Wallis, therefore, presents a conundrum to the Conservative establishment. He wishes to transition as quick as possible- but his Conservative peers have paved the way for extensive wait times, inadequate Gender Identity Clinic care and an overall poorly executed transition system. He recognises this himself, noting that the process is (and will be for him) challenging and difficult, littered with hurdles and hoops that the ordinary trans people of this country must jump through and navigate. Despite repeated attempts to reform the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, the Conservative Party has kicked the question further down the road, most notably in 2016, 2017 and in 2020 (though these are by no means the only rejected attempts at reform). His party quite frankly is deeply opposed to transition - but now one amongst them is trans and will be harmed by the very policies they put in place. 

It is unlikely that the Conservative Party will change its tune on trans people, simply because they now have a trans MP, however, Wallis, should they remain an MP while transitioning, will come face to face with the chaos his party has sewn in this country’s trans healthcare system. He will undergo, as I or any other trans person in this country on a waitlist for a GIC will undergo, step after agonizing step towards gender recognition and transition. This is the first time this has happened. Will the right honourable MP for Brigend stand alongside us in challenging this broken system? Will he come to be an advocate not only for his own transition needs, but for all of his trans siblings? It is these questions that terrify the cisgender contingent of the Conservative Party. There has never been an openly trans person in the House of Commons before now- not one who is in a place of political power. Who has the power to shape and influence policies. 

Only time will tell as for what Wallis will do with this unique position. For better, we all hope in the trans community. But if he wishes to retreat from politics, there isn’t a single reasonable person who would hold it against him. 

My best wishes to the Member for Bridgend - may gender euphoria visit him often. 

• 24/04/2022, by/gan Luke A. Blaidd