THE UK Government is using archaic Westminster procedure in order to “avoid scrutiny” over the equalities watchdog’s guidance on single-sex spaces, an MP has said.
In May, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) draft Code of Practice was finally laid in the House of Commons after repeated delays, and right before a parliamentary recess.
Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson, who is in charge of signing off on the Code, didn’t give a statement to MPs or take part in the debate on the changes almost two weeks later, leaving the task to a junior minister.
The sweeping changes will ban transgender women from female bathrooms, and transgender men from male bathrooms. Changing facilities and sports teams will also be required to be provided on the basis of sex, rather than gender.
The Code comes in response to the Supreme Court ruling in April last year that said a woman is defined by biological sex under the Equality Act 2010.
But critics and advocacy groups have argued that the EHRC’s proposals go much further, strip rights from transgender people living in the UK, and have wider implications for the LGBT+ community as a whole.
Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, lodged an Early Day Motion (EDM) seeking to have the EHRC guidance “disapproved”.
At time of writing, 86 MPs have signed in support . The EDM does not qualify as a “fatal prayer motion”, but has a similar purpose, as the UK Government has chosen to move the Code through Parliament in this way, it restricts MPs ability to debate and vote on its contents.
Whittome’s EDM motion is worded in a way that would allow MPs to stop “disapprove it”, basically “kill it” in Commons terms, but that is only if the UK Government finds time to allow the motion to be debated, and if a majority of MPs vote in support.
Stella Creasy, one of the co-sponsors of an EDM seeking to stop the guidance from becoming law, even appeared to be confused by how the process works, suggesting that the Government is
Creasy has been a Labour MP for Walthamstow since 2010.
“With a negative SI, which is what the Government is using to deal with the EHRC guidance and give it statutory status, the Government simply puts forward the changes it wants to make, and they automatically become law after 40 days unless Parliament passes a prayer motion to annul the statutory instrument," she said in a social media video.
However, a community note on X/Twitter under her video point at that it is laid before Parliament under Section 14 of the Equality Act 2006 as an Act paper.
This video is an attempt to explain the parliamentary processes being used to give the EHRC guidance legal status and why I think they are a problem in themselves. Am sure it’s not perfect but I hope it’s helpful in trying to navigate the acronyms and actions being taken. pic.twitter.com/173ALKuPdM
— stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) June 3, 2026
“As a democrat, and as a socialist, I don’t think it's right to use this process and especially negative SIs to avoid parliamentary scrutiny and debate, because all laws benefit from good scrutiny,” she said.
It is unclear what threshold the UK Government would accept to allow this to be brought to debate.
Trans+ Solidarity Alliance noted on Bluesky: “This motion alone would not stop it, it would have to be put to a vote. The best way to get that is for it to have an overwhelming number of signatures.
“Whatever happens, it sends a strong message.”
The EHRC Code of Practice is guidance, and does not impose any legal obligations.
The draft Code itself states that it is not "an authoritative statement of the law: only the courts and tribunals can provide such authority. However, the Code can be used in evidence in legal proceedings brought under the Act. Courts and tribunals must consider any part of the Code that appears relevant to any questions arising in such proceedings."
When The National asked the Cabinet Office if it would find time for the EDM to be discussed and debated in Parliament, a UK Government spokesperson said: "The Equality Act enshrines our rights in law so that people can live free from discrimination and harassment.
"Our focus has always been making sure organisations have clear, accessible guidance on how to implement the law.
"We thank the EHRC for their work updating the draft Code of Practice, and look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure people’s rights are upheld across our country."
The last time a fatal prayer motion was approved in the Commons was 1979.
After 40 days of being laid in Parliament, and if neither the Commons or Lords disapprove the Code in that time, Phillipson can issue a commencement order and it will come into force, subject to the EHRC's enforcement powers.
