In late 2018, Natalie wore a T-shirt saying “Woman: Adult Human Female” in a Lib Dem meeting. There followed an investigation and in November 2019 Natalie was “barred from holding or standing for election to any party office for 10 years” and “barred from holding or seeking to be elected to any public office on behalf of the party for a period of 10 years” because she had “disseminat(ed) transphobic material over a prolonged time”. For allegedly “speaking to a journalist”, (an alleged breach of confidentiality) she received a reprimand. Natalie has appealed these findings and denies being transphobic, instead has simply raised questions around how to find the right balance between gender based rights and sex based rights. That appeal is still pending.
Natalie seeks to instruct lawyers to explore whether there have been breaches of the internal procedures of the Liberal Democrats and whether there have been breaches of the Equality Act 2010 against her (and potentially other women in the party).