A Labour-led council has claimed the furore over single-sex spaces is a 'manufactured moral panic' after it passed a motion stating 'trans women are women.'
Councillors in Oxford voted on Monday to ensure access to public toilets, community centres and homelessness services remains 'trans inclusive'.
It comes despite a Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 defining 'sex' within the Equality Act as 'biological sex' and 'sex at birth'.
The motion was proposed by a Green councillor, who dubbed the Supreme Court verdict 'discriminatory', passing with just two votes against and two abstentions.
A Labour amendment doubled down on the motion – adding public and workplace toilets should remain trans inclusive 'to the maximum permissible by law'.
But concerns were raised by some councillors who said the ruling 'risks undermining constructive debate' about sex-based rights and the rights of transgender people.
Independent Oxford Alliance councillor David Henwood said: 'The law recognises that there are circumstances in which single-sex services can legitimately be provided.
'We should not pass a blanket council resolution that could undermine those carefully established provisions.'
Mr Henwood added he was 'particularly concerned' about a resolution in the motion that suggests 'self-identification should normally be sufficient for access to facilities and services'.
Councillors in Oxford voted on Monday to ensure access to public toilets, community centres and homelessness services remains 'trans inclusive'. Oxford Town Hall is pictured (file image)
Speaking at the council meeting, Dr Max Morris, who proposed the motion, said: 'Unfortunately the EHRC's code of practice came into effect two months ago causing immense uncertainty.
'We are living through a manufactured moral panic which has made being trans, non–binary or gender non–conforming in public life both online and offline a daily nightmare for many.
'This transphobic moral panic has a policing effect on anyone whose appearance or behaviour doesn't meet the norm.'
Dr Morris added: 'Others have highlighted how this policy (the Supreme Court ruling) is discriminatory and why we need to stand together to fight it.
'That's why we've proposed a cross–party working group to ensure we can implement the policy as inclusively as possible.'
In 2021, the city council voted overwhelmingly in favour of 'Becoming a Trans Inclusive Council'.
The inclusion of pronouns to email signatures and gender neutral toilets in council buildings was recommended at the time – as well as an agreement to fly the transgender flag on International Trans Day of Visibility on March 31.
Oxford City Council stated in this week's motion: 'The principles of the November 2021 motion still apply and still reflect this Council's beliefs.'
However, the council said it 'accepts the interpretation of the courts which are now law'.
In 2016, Oxford City Council moved to remove the terms 'Mr' and 'Mrs' amid concerns they were 'not inclusive'.
It agreed to add the gender-neutral option of Mx – pronounced 'mix' – while considering whether to phase out all titles from official forms.
The late Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe said the change was a pointless waste of taxpayers' cash.
She added at the time: 'It's just another example of political correctness.
'Haven't Oxford City Council got anything else to worry about? It's a waste of time and money and achieves nothing.
'The English language evolves and develops all the time but this is just nonsense.'