Content Note: this article contains discussion of transphobia

Labour councillor and Clare porter Kevin Price resigned from Cambridge City Council on Thursday (22/10) in protest over a council motion to support transgender rights.

Price, in reference to the motion, stated that the inclusion of the sentences “trans women are women”, “trans men are men” and “non-binary individuals are non-binary” would “send a chill down the spines of [..] many women” and claimed his “conscience” demanded the resignation.

The motion, brought to session by the Liberal Democrats and supported by the Labour party following amendment, pushed for the council to commit to “flying the trans flag on international trans day of visibility and international trans day of remembrance”, “stating publicly that trans rights are human rights”, “rais[ing] awareness of the community grants fund amongst LGBTQIA+ groups” and “facilitating and strongly encouraging all Councillors to attend Safer Spaces training”.

Kevin Price, who represented King’s Hedges, is also currently a porter at Clare College.

In light of the recent revelations, the Union of Clare Students (UCS) released a statement affirming that “trans people deserve to feel safe and valued within Clare”, and that “our priority is to protect the welfare of Clare’s trans and non-binary community, ensuring that they feel not only safe but also empowered by the College they attend”.

Condemning Price, who is currently continuing his duties at the College, the UCS stated that Price has shown “a brazen contempt for the rights and dignity of trans and non-binary people”. They reassured students that “the UCS and MCR are currently in communication with the College on how best to resolve this situation while centring trans and non-binary students”, and that “the Senior Tutor is meeting with Price personally”.

The UCS’ LGBT+ Officer Frankie Kendal emphasised that “at Clare, we have a small but vibrant trans and non-binary community that should not only feel safe but feel celebrated”, furthering that for as long as Price continues to perpetuate transphobic views, “trans and non-binary students should not have to interact or rely on him for support in any way”.

Kendal, who is also a Trans and Non-Binary Rep on the Cambridge SU LGBT+ Campaign, furthermore highlighted that “the handling of this situation highlights that transphobia runs much deeper than a singular Twitter feed”.

Kendal denounced the College’s failure to make students aware of Price’s conduct when his Tweets were unearthed last month, alongside Council members mourning Kevin’s resignation “but not denouncing his transphobia” and “the way CULA used his original comments as a partisan campaigning tool”. Kendal affirmed that all these instances show a continued “failure to centre trans people”, alongside the fact that trans students “are not being prioritised as they should be”.

Victoria Longstaff, former SU Women’s Campaign Trans Rep and Clare student, commented that Price is “unfit both to hold public office and to be in a position of responsibility over students” in light of his views. She added that transgender students relying on him in his position as a Clare porter is “a potential risk”, furthering that because of this she “must support either his resignation or his suspension from his duties at the college”.

Price’s resignation speech, delivered via Zoom, centred around the idea that “many women [...] are concerned about the impact on women’s sex-based rights from changes both from legislation within society, and fear [...] that those rights are under threat” from the trans community, citing a “conflict of rights”.

He particularly denounced the motion’s suggestion that the Council “should use its own communication channels to counter transphobic reporting in the national media”, citing the public response to prominent figures accused of spreading Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) ideologies such as JK Rowling and Rosie Duffield.

The motion put to the Council condemned “the failure of the Tory Government to keep its promise to reform the gender recognition act”. Last month, Equalities minister Liz Truss abandoned plans to streamline the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), claiming that reforms are “not a priority” for trans people, despite consultations showing that 80% of respondents were in favour of de-medicalising procuring gender recognition certificates.

Price also came under fire last month after a series of his transphobic tweets were unearthed, alongside those of other prominent Cambridge City Councillors. Price was criticised for retweeting accounts which labelled trans people “fetishists” and attacked LGBT+ charities for supporting trans rights.

He was also accused of supporting a crowdfunder launched by former Cambridge councillor Ann Sinnott, which sought “to challenge the right of trans women to access women’s spaces and services”.

Varsity attempted to contact Mr Price for comment but did not receive a reply.