Hannah Chapman, Oxford Socialist Party
The trans rights movement made a historic mark in Oxford on 27 April. A relatively new group – Oxford for Trans Rights – mobilised 1,000 workers and young people against the Supreme Court ruling.
This march rivalled the scale of Oxford’s ‘corporate’ pride celebrations. And it featured a far more explicitly political programme. Many speakers advocated a working-class response, and offered solidarity to the Birmingham bin workers on strike.
One of the demo organisers and speakers was Oxford Socialist Party member Rachel Cox. Her influence ensured that the event was more orientated towards a programme like that.
Our demands
In her speech, she emphasised how Labour, Reform, and other capitalist parties rely on reactionary and divisive rhetoric and policies, that must be opposed. She argued for organising within trade unions, and demanding a political party of the working class, for the working class, that would oppose all cuts to services and housing. The crowd was receptive to our demands.
As Socialist Party members stated, the next steps for ‘Oxford for Trans Rights’ must be to reinforce the links it has built with trade unions in the city, and to fight for a workers’ electoral alternative to Labour and Reform’s divide and rule. Otherwise, we risk missing this opportunity.
The recent proposal of an in-person assembly is a definitive step in the right direction. Clearly, our work is not over yet.
