The mother of a trans woman who died by suicide has issued a stark warning, saying that "more children are going to die" unless the incoming prime minister reverses "anti-trans policies" she attributes to Sir Keir Starmer's oversight.
Alice Litman, 20, took her own life in May 2022, having endured a 1,023-day wait for gender-affirming care.
Her mother, former NHS psychiatrist Caroline Litman, said that the situation for trans people has worsened since her daughter's death.
The comments emerged as tens of thousands of people gathered in London for Trans Pride, a year after an estimated 100,000 attended the event.
The march, which began near the BBC's central London headquarters, featured placards with messages such as "marching for all my trans siblings past and present", and "these meds save lives".
It ended with crowds spilling onto Trafalgar Square, filling the steps and the fountain walls to watch speeches. They were overlooked by the large Mil Veces un Instante sculpture by Mexican artist Teresa Margolles, which displays face casts of 726 trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people.
Before the march began, Ms Litman explained how her youngest daughter Alice had faced name-calling, sexism, deadnaming, biphobia and a “litany of errors” as she tried to seek out gender-affirming care.
Asked how the circumstances for trans people have since changed, Ms Litman said: “I just keep fighting, but it very often feels like nobody is listening.”
She added: “Things have got so much worse, and it’s just so disappointing because my family chose to go public with (Alice’s) inquest in an effort to raise awareness of the terrible wait lists and to really bring about change, and it’s just got worse and worse and worse since that happened, and it’s just so disappointing.
“And I kind of carry a lot of burden – I feel like we have failed in our aims and it’s really, really disappointing.”
Two of her examples were the new Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on single-sex spaces, and the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance which she described as “Section 28 mark two”.
Addressing Andy Burnham, she said: “The new prime minister needs to completely reverse Labour’s policy on trans rights, trans existence.”
She laughed as she added: “That’s not going to happen, is it?”
The co-founder of advocacy group Transparent Action continued: “Andy, if you’re listening, I’m the mother of a trans child who took her life by suicide and more children are going to die on your watch if you don’t do something to reverse the anti-trans policies that your predecessor has overseen.
“This is telling you loud and clear: it will happen, and you will be responsible.
“More and more research is coming through every week, every month, to show that gender-affirming care is life-saving care, especially in under-18s.”
While still Greater Manchester mayor in May, Mr Burnham called for Britain to have a “live and let live approach to life” when asked about EHRC guidance.
He said people need to “stop arguing”, find common ground and “start pulling together” – and while the “time has come” to implement guidance on the basis of last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling on biological sex, it must be done in “the fairest and most compassionate way possible”.
The EHRC guidance said single-sex services must be used on the basis of biological sex and not gender identity, after the Supreme Court in April 2025 ruled that the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
Speaking before the London trans pride march, award-winning author Juno Dawson reminded Mr Burnham: “Shall I tell you where loves trans people? Manchester.”
The Doctor Who writer and author of This Book Is Gay said: “If he’s going to be a Manchester prime minister he really does need to speak out, like the press are never going to support him.
“So he needs to just ignore that voice and go with what’s right, and actually what most women believe.
“By any poll, most women come out strongly in favour of trans rights and they are his voters, so.”
She added: “Keir Starmer won in a general election on a huge mandate, and part of that was pledging his support for the LGBT community, which he didn’t follow through with.
“I think Starmer was very, very scared of the British media, which is ironic because they were never going to support him – he could have done anything and they were going to be against his government.
“So what I would say to Andy Burnham is: the tabloids aren’t going to support you anyway, so you might as well act with kindness and compassion.”
Meanwhile, Alfie Bailey-Bearfield, advocacy lead at the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, said this year’s pride comes amid a “hostile environment” for trans people.
Their organisation focuses on overturning the “harm caused by For Women Scotland”, who brought the Supreme Court case, and ultimately the ruling itself too, he said.
“I’m all too aware of the fact that as a trans man under this new guidance, I shouldn’t really be going to a women’s toilet, shouldn’t really be going to a men’s toilet, and that excludes people like me from public life and it’s affecting non-binary people, trans women, trans men,” Mr Bailey-Bearfield told PA.
Trans+ Solidarity Alliance is “seeing really worrying huge numbers of people self-excluding” such as by quitting jobs or staying away from the office.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you
