Helen Belcher

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 stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in Chippenham at the 2017 and 2019 general elections.^[5]

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.^[6] She is a trans woman who transitioned in 2004.^[7]

Political career and activism

In 2012, Belcher gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, an investigation into the culture, practices and ethics of the press.^[8] She gave evidence again in 2015 for the Women and Equalities Select Committee's inquiry into trans equality,^[9] and in 2017 for the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Human Rights' inquiry into free speech.^[10]

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.^[11][12]

Belcher stood as a Liberal Democrat in the election for Wokingham Borough Council in 2016 but lost by 122 votes to the Conservative candidate.^[13] 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.^[14][15]

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.^[16]

Belcher was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to the transgender community.^[17]

References

1. "The Independent on Sunday's Pink List 2013". The Independent. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
2. "Rainbow List 2015: 1 to 101". The Independent. 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
4. Newsnight, B. B. C. (18 October 2018). ""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".
5. . Elections Online. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
6. . Democracy Club CVs. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
7. Gussin, Tony (25 February 2019). . North Devon Gazette. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
8. . SayIt. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
9. "First evidence session of transgender equality inquiry". parliament.uk. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
10. "Freedom of Speech – Joint Committee on Human Rights". House of Commons. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
11. 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
12. d'Ancona, Matthew (22 October 2018). "The Comment Awards 2018 show that feelings matter more than facts". British GQ. Retrieved 10 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
13. "Results of elections on Thursday 5 May 2016" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. 7 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
14. "Helen Belcher re-selected by Chippenham Lib Dems". Liberal Democrats in Wiltshire. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
15. Gussin, Tony (25 February 2019). . North Devon Gazette. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
16. "Corsham Pickwick | Unitary council election on Thursday 6 May 2021". Wiltshire Council. 5 August 2021.
17. "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N11.