Allow transgender people to self-identify their legal gender.
The Parliament petitions site records 128,749 signatures for this petition, which closed on 12 June 2025. The Government responded on 19 March 2025. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 19 May 2025.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Allow transgender people to self-identify their legal gender.
We believe the government should change legislation to make it easier for trans people of all ages to change their legal gender without an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
Transgender people have a history of major discrimination in the UK and around the world. Major studies in reputable journals have shown a positive correlation between allowing trans people to live as their gender, rather than their sex assigned at birth in regards to positive mental and physical health outcomes.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 19 March 2025; the petitions site lists the Cabinet Office as responsible. Its summary:
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is a robust piece of legislation that reflects the seriousness of changing a person’s legal gender. The Government will not be introducing self-identification.
The response in full:
The UK has long championed the rights of LGBT+ people at home and abroad.
This Government is proud of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004 and the rights it affords to transgender people in this country. The GRA has operated for 20 years and has allowed trans people to be recognised in law. The Act enables trans people to live, work and die in their acquired gender and this is important in ensuring that trans people can live with dignity and respect.
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is a robust piece of legislation, with appropriate checks and balances that reflect the seriousness of changing a person’s legal sex. The Government is committed to modernising, simplifying and reforming the legal gender recognition process to remove indignities for trans people whilst retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. We believe this strikes the right balance, and the Government will not introduce self-identification as part of these reforms.
The government is committed to ensuring trans people can live their lives as they wish. In line with the King’s Speech, this Government will deliver on our manifesto commitment to bring forward a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices.
We are also working with the Home Office to deliver our commitment to equalise all existing strands of hate crime to make them aggravated offences.
Cabinet Office
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Brighton Pavilion, with 16.7 signatures per 1,000 electors (1,246 in all).
126,960 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,789 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton Pavilion | 1,246 | 74,786 | 16.7 |
| Glasgow North | 702 | 67,579 | 10.4 |
| Bristol Central | 621 | 62,735 | 9.9 |
| Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven | 672 | 68,784 | 9.8 |
| Leeds Central and Headingley | 653 | 70,554 | 9.3 |
| Hove and Portslade | 683 | 74,063 | 9.2 |
| Lewisham North | 655 | 74,205 | 8.8 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | 681 | 78,411 | 8.7 |
| Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | 655 | 76,188 | 8.6 |
| Hackney South and Shoreditch | 653 | 78,277 | 8.3 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 19,097 |
| South East | 18,669 |
| Scotland | 14,565 |
| North West | 13,171 |
| South West | 12,355 |
| East of England | 10,382 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 9,494 |
| West Midlands | 7,919 |
| East Midlands | 7,095 |
| Wales | 6,171 |
| North East | 4,515 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,062 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 19 May 2025. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/701159.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
32b61b28ac5ce7e5… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.