I am a 24-year-old woman. I am passionate about women's rights, social justice and preventing violence against women. I believe that sex is real, and matters. 

I am an experienced Parliamentary Staffer, having worked in numerous roles supporting MPs as a Parliamentary Intern, Constituency Caseworker and Parliamentary Assistant alongside my part-time studies for a MSc in Public Policy.  I have a neurodivergent condition.

In January 2024, I was dismissed by a Liberal Democrat MP after only three full days in my role of Parliamentary Researcher. I believe I was dismissed as a result of pressure from the Liberal Democrat Party because I voiced my belief that sex is real, immutable and important and because I am neurodivergent.

I am fundraising for legal representation at an employment tribunal against my employer for discrimination, harassment and victimisation relating to both my beliefs and my disability. I am initially fundraising anonymously as I hope to mitigate the already significant impact on my mental health and wellbeing.

My Story

I started a new job as a Parliamentary Researcher to a Liberal Democrat MP in January 2024.

One part of my role was to draft responses to Constituent correspondence. Constituents wrote in about many topics and it was specifically outlined to me that I would be responsible for lines on trans rights, conversion therapy, abortion and assisted dying. I was keen to ensure that the correspondence I wrote was coherent, well-reasoned and reflected the party's position – not my own. I was offered little in terms of shadowing or induction but was told from the outset to ask questions and that there was no such thing as a silly question.

In drafting my first responses, I sought to understand the Liberal Democrat party lines on related issues that constituents had covered including freedom of speech, women’s rights, conversion therapy and violence against women. To seek clarity on these issues, I spoke to the party policy advisors who I had been introduced to. 

On the morning of my fourth day, my employer called me to arrange a one-to-one online Teams meeting. I had expected our call to be a catch-up to see how I was settling into my new role. However, in the meeting, she told me that she had received a complaint about me and, without outlining any of the details of what it had said, she asked me if I knew what the complaint could be about. I was very shocked, overwhelmed and visibly upset as I did not know what it was about. She said she was very concerned that I did not know.  She then asked me to speculate about what I thought the complaint could be. She was concerned, she said, as it was vitally important to her that she and her staff maintained a good relationship with others in the central Party.

I told her openly about the conversations and meetings I had had in my first three days in the role.  This included a brief exchange I had had in the office with another MP’s staff member while watching an SNP MP speak in the Rwanda Bill debate in the Commons. In this exchange, I stated that I admired the SNP MP's stance on human rights. The other staffer said, ‘isn’t she a transphobe’, to which I responded ‘no, she’s a women’s rights activist’.  A colleague in my team said that this was a conversation for another time, to which we both agreed, and the conversation moved on amicably. I hadn’t thought the name of the MP was an important detail at the time – when I was overwhelmed and very upset – and my employer did not ask the name of the MP who was the subject of the conversation. The MP I had praised was Joanna Cherry KC, the Chair of the Human Rights Committee.  My employer closed the meeting saying she would ‘do some digging’ and told me she would call me back later that day. I was distraught and felt incredibly isolated. To be told that an un-particularised complaint had been made about me to my new employer was devastating.

That afternoon, my employer called me back and told me that she was ‘concerned about my honesty’ as she said my account differed to the account of the people she had spoken to. She said that she wasn’t sure if I was disingenuous or whether it was teething problems. She sent me home.  I was devastated at the allegation of dishonesty and shocked that a complaint had been made against me at all. After only 3 full days in the role, my employer started an extraordinary disciplinary process which ultimately concluded with her dismissing me. 

The whole process was perplexing, intensely stressful and humiliating. I was just trying to find my feet to do my job to the best of my ability and found myself ostracised and isolated from my new colleagues.

Ultimately, I was dismissed for ‘dishonesty’ because, she said, my account did not correspond with that of others she had spoken to and because I had not named the SNP MP I had defended, a detail which I did not purposefully omit; at no point did my employer ask who the MP was that I was defending. I was also dismissed on the ground that I ‘failed to demonstrate sufficient improvement’ despite having only been in the office for three full days, having been sent home the same day the complaint about me was made. I was not given any opportunity to improve.  There was no support offered.

My neurodivergence can make it extremely challenging for me to process information in highly stressful contexts, particularly those involving rejection. My disability was disclosed on my first day of employment and I hadn’t anticipated needing any significant reasonable adjustments. To support me in my work, adjustments I rely on include rest breaks, having access to material prior to meetings to prepare, having additional time to process information, using headphones and using a quiet space to minimise distractions. I shared this information with my employer.  Prior to my disciplinary meeting, I repeatedly asked for the necessary detail of the complaint to be shared with me, such that I could properly understand the allegations made. Sadly, my employer refused to share any details with me and no reasonable adjustments were made to help me navigate the process.

The complaint, which I only got to see weeks after I was dismissed by way of a Data Subject Access Request - submitted with the support of the Free Speech Union - was sent from within the Liberal Democrat Chief Whips Office which runs the Parliamentary Liberal Democrat Party.

It included this:

‘As you will appreciate, we are a small party which relies heavily on MPs, their offices and the central party in collaborating in a culture of trust and respect. I fear [her] actions over the last couple of days have seriously damaged others ability to do that with her. It is for this reason I wanted to raise this with you as a matter of urgency.’ 

In the absence of information to the contrary, I believe that my dismissal resulted from my articulation of my gender-critical beliefs coupled with my neurodivergence. Given that the complaint came from the Chief Whips Office, it is very likely that my sudden dismissal was due to the pressure felt by my employer from the Liberal Democrat Party itself.

My Legal Case and Why I Need Your Help 

My employment tribunal claim argues that I was discriminated against and harassed by my employer, the Liberal Democrat MP, as well as the Liberal Democratic Party because of my gender-critical beliefs. I am also arguing that the Liberal Democrat MP discriminated against me because of my neurodivergence and victimised me because I raised this and my gender-critical beliefs during the swift process that led to my dismissal.

As a young graduate, unfortunately I cannot afford to do this on my own. The practical, emotional and financial support I have received from the Free Speech Union up to this point has been incredible - I wouldn’t have been able to get to this point without them.  They are continuing to support me at no cost, however, we are now at the stage where I need your help to raise funds for legal representation at my preliminary hearing in October 2024.

The target for this stage of proceedings is £10,000. I have a fantastic legal team, led by my solicitor, Liz McGlone, Partner at Didlaw who specialises in discrimination and employment law.

Why My Case Matters

I want to do what I can to oppose the intolerance and illiberalism that I was subject to, particularly as a neurodivergent young woman who was excited by the opportunity to work for a party that I thought represented my values: equality, freedom of speech and liberty. 

I am aware of others in the Liberal Democrat Party - and in other political parties - that share my views that have also been subject to intolerant and illiberal behaviour or are themselves too afraid to speak out for fear of being subject to the same treatment.

The silencing and bullying of Parliamentary staff has serious consequences for our democracy.  Parliamentary roles attract young people who are often straight out of school or university. They are often at the beginning of their careers and lack the agency, job security and financial security to speak up about important issues and challenge unprofessional and bullying behaviour.  This is more acute in a work environment such as Parliament where there is little in the way of HR or professional oversight.

In our roles as Member's staff, we provide critical support to MPs. We are responsible for briefing MPs on a range of current issues and often deal with complex and sensitive issues when supporting constituents.  I believe it is crucial that we can objectively and critically analyse ideas and legislation to provide balanced briefings, particularly on issues inherently related to the safeguarding of some of the most vulnerable in our society, without fear of retribution such as the type I faced.

I am forever grateful for your support. Thank you so much for reading!

Any unused funds will support Almut Gadow, who is standing against indoctrination and for academic freedom . You can read more about her case here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/almut-gadow-academic-freedom.