Helen Belcher

Last updated

Helen Clare Belcher OBE (born 30 October 1963) is a British transgender activist and Liberal Democrat politician. She has been featured in The Independent on Sunday 's Rainbow List for her work on LGBT issues, particularly those affecting the trans community. [1] [2] In 2010 she co-founded Trans Media Watch, [3] a trans-awareness charity for which she appeared on Newsnight . [4] Belcher is a Wiltshire Councillor and the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Reading West and Mid Berkshire, having previously stood for Parliament in Chippenham. [5] [6]

Contents

Early life

Belcher was born in Reading, where she attended a local grammar school before graduating from the University of Leeds in 1984. She worked initially as a maths teacher in Boston Spa but later moved into computer software, establishing her own software company in 2004. [7] She is a trans woman who transitioned in 2004. [8]

Political career and activism

In 2012, Belcher gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, an investigation into the culture, practices and ethics of the press. [9] She gave evidence again in 2015 for the Women and Equalities Select Committee's inquiry into trans equality, [10] and in 2017 for the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Human Rights' inquiry into free speech. [11]

The Times withdrew from the 2018 Comment Awards when Belcher, a judge on the panel, asked for her name to be removed following the nomination of Janice Turner. It was claimed that Turner had contributed to a number of articles in the press that resisted the Government's proposed reform to the Gender Recognition Act, with Belcher suggesting that trans suicides had increased as a result. [12] [13]

Belcher stood as a Liberal Democrat in the election for the Evendons ward of Wokingham Borough Council in 2016 but lost by 122 votes to the Conservative candidate. [14] Later that year, she was selected as Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate to replace Duncan Hames in his former constituency of Chippenham, where she was unsuccessful in the 2017 general election against the incumbent Conservative, Michelle Donelan. [5] She was re-selected as Chippenham's Liberal Democrat candidate for the 2019 general election, and she lost again. [15] [16]

Belcher was elected to represent the Corsham Pickwick division in the 2021 Wiltshire Council election, winning with 51% of the vote and an 11.94% majority over the second-placing Conservative Party candidate. [17]

In 2023 Belcher was selected as the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for the new constituency of Reading West and Mid Berkshire at the 2024 general election. [6]

Belcher was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to the transgender community. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newbury (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

Newbury is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, located in the English county of Berkshire. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 and has been in continual existence since then. It has been represented by Lee Dillon of the Liberal Democrats since 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maidenhead (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Maidenhead is a constituency in Berkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by Joshua Reynolds, a Liberal Democrat, since 2024. Following its creation at the 1997 general election, the seat was held for twenty-seven years by Conservative Member of Parliament Theresa May, who served as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016 and as Prime Minister from 2016 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury</span> British Liberal Democrat politician

Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and member of the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Chippenham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Sarah Gibson, a Liberal Democrat. The 2024 constituency includes the Wiltshire towns of Calne, Chippenham, Corsham and Royal Wootton Bassett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South West Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

South West Wiltshire is a constituency in Wiltshire, England. The constituency has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Andrew Murrison, a Conservative, since its inauguration in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine</span> British Baroness (born 1955)

Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine is a British politician and life peer who is a non-aligned member of the House of Lords. She was the Chairman of the EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee in the House of Lords from 2015 to 2019.

The 1943 Darwen by-election was a by-election held on 15 December 1943 for the British House of Commons constituency of Darwen in Lancashire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1943 Chippenham by-election</span> UK by-election

The 1943 Chippenham by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in England on 24 August 1943 for the British House of Commons constituency of Chippenham in Wiltshire.

The region of South West England is divided into 58 parliamentary constituencies, which are made up of 16 borough constituencies and 42 county constituencies. Since the general election of July 2024, 24 are represented by Labour MPs, 22 by Liberal Democrat MPs, 11 by Conservative MPs, and 1 by a Green MP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan Hames</span> British Former Liberal Democrat politician

Duncan John Hames is a Director of Policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015. Between 2012 and 2015, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nick Clegg when he was Deputy Prime Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans Media Watch</span> British charity

Trans Media Watch (TMW) is a British charity founded in 2009 to improve media coverage of transgender and intersex issues. By improving media coverage, TMW strives to "foster social acceptance and civil recognition for trans persons", and to prevent the "material consequences" of misrepresentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Brown (politician)</span> Transgender activist

Sarah Brown is a transgender activist and former Liberal Democrat politician. She was the Cambridge City Councillor for Petersfield ward between 2010 and 2014, serving as Executive Councillor for Community Wellbeing since 2013 and served as a member of the LGBT+ Liberal Democrats executive. She is a trans woman and, for several years, was the only openly transgender elected politician in the UK. In 2011, she appeared on the Independent on Sunday "Pink List" as the 28th most influential LGBT person in the UK, dropping to 34th in the 2012 list, but rising again to 27th in the 2013 list.

Julia Reid is a British politician and a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South West England region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Donelan</span> British politician (born 1984)

Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan is a British politician who previously served as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology from July 2023 to July 2024, having previously served in the position from February to April 2023 before being temporarily replaced during her maternity leave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aimee Knight</span> British politician and activist

Aimee Knight is a British transgender activist and former politician. She was a rising star in the Green Party and its equalities spokesperson. In 2018, her father, who had been her election agent, was convicted of raping a child and she was no-fault suspended during an investigation into safeguarding failures by the party. She subsequently joined the Liberal Democrats in 2019 and was suspended after tweets appeared on her fiance's account stating he fantasized about children having sex, which she attributed to hacking.

Zoe O'Connell is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and a prominent campaigner for transgender rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Wiltshire Council election</span> 2021 UK local government election

The 2021 Wiltshire Council election took place on 6 May 2021 as part of the 2021 local elections in the United Kingdom. All 98 councillors were elected from electoral divisions which returned one councillor each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melksham and Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2024 onwards

Melksham and Devizes is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election, when it was won by Brian Mathew of the Liberal Democrats. He defeated former Conservative cabinet minister Michelle Donelan, who had been MP for Chippenham from 2015 to 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "The Independent on Sunday's Pink List 2013". The Independent. London. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  2. ↑ "Rainbow List 2015: 1 to 101" . The Independent. London. 15 November 2015. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  3. ↑ Belcher, Helen (20 September 2013). "Greater London Authority 2013: How Trans People are Represented in the Media" (PDF). Mayor of London. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  4. ↑ ""It's very costly… it's an opaque process, it's not accountable to anybody and there's no right to appeal." Helen Belcher from Trans Media Watch explains what's wrong with the current gender recognition process #newsnight |@HelenCBelcherpic.twitter.com/lOKLKLhKgj". BBC Newsnight. 18 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Chippenham – 2017 Election Results". Elections Online. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Meet the trans campaigner who wants to be an MP". Newbury Today. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Helen Belcher". Democracy Club CVs. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  8. ↑ Gussin, Tony (25 February 2019). "Leading LGBT activist speaks at Petroc Barnstaple". North Devon Gazette. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "View Section: Ms Helen Belcher ::Leveson Inquiry". SayIt. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "First evidence session of transgender equality inquiry". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Freedom of Speech – Joint Committee on Human Rights". House of Commons. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  12. ↑ Tobitt, Charlotte (22 October 2018). "Times withdraws from comment awards over treatment of columnists as it defends 'diversity of opinion'". Press Gazette. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  13. ↑ d'Ancona, Matthew (22 October 2018). "The Comment Awards 2018 show that feelings matter more than facts". British GQ. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  14. ↑ "Results of elections on Thursday 5 May 2016" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. 7 May 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "Helen Belcher re-selected by Chippenham Lib Dems". Liberal Democrats in Wiltshire. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Gussin, Tony (25 February 2019). "Leading LGBT activist speaks at Petroc Barnstaple". North Devon Gazette. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  17. ↑ "Corsham Pickwick | Unitary council election on Thursday 6 May 2021". Wiltshire Council. 5 August 2021.
  18. ↑ "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.