By Andy Ford, Warrington Trades Union Council
The February 2023 murder of Brianna Ghey in Culcheth near Warrington shocked the nation and now the sentencing and naming of her killers in the last week again brought this horrific murder to public notice. Brianna was killed for no other reason other than for what she was – a harmless, happy young trans person. She was killed purely out of hate.
But that hate did not come from nowhere, and it wasn’t just a random evil act. We now have the Conservatives, one of the major political parties of the UK, despicably turning to hate, fear-mongering and prejudice, in a desperate tactic to win votes, or at least, not to lose too badly in the upcoming election. They are aided in this primitive tactic by their good friends in the corrupt, billionaire-owned press. Brianna’s murder has a direct link to these so-called ‘culture wars’.
Last year something like 1,000 people attended a vigil for Brianna (photo above) in Warrington, her hometown. More than half the crowd were of school and college age and no speaker, except the chair and the local MP, Charlotte Nichols, was over 30 years old. It was very moving, with short speeches or poems, alternating with Brianna’s favourite music, such as KT Tunstall, Lana Del Ray and Angel by Sarah MacLachlan. Many young people were moved to tears. Speakers from Warrington’s small trans community and Brianna’s friends struggled at times to get through their contributions.
The weaponisation of anti-trans prejudice
Charlotte Nichol MP got a good reception for pointing out the weaponisation of anti-trans hatred by Tory ministers and their tame press, to win the votes of the prejudiced. But the loudest applause went to Jasmine, a young trans singer, who pointed out the hypocrisy of the Daily Mail and others like it, who expressed horror at Brianna’s murder just days after running anti-trans articles of exactly the sort that create a climate of hostility and hate.
The mood was mainly one of grief and sadness, but the numbers attending showed that those who support equality and freedom far outnumber the haters. It also shows the importance of socialist organisations having a solid understanding of issues of oppression and equality in order to reach a new generation of young people.
One spot of light in an otherwise dark situation is that the parents of Scarlett Jenkinson (one of the killers) have apologised for their daughter’s part in the murder, and have paid tribute to Brianna’s mother for her “selflessness and empathy towards our family”, while for her part, Esther Ghey has expressed her sympathy to the Jenkinsons, “as they too have lost their daughter”.
Brianna’s murder shocked the whole town, but its people, and especially its young people, have come together, united in grief and condemnation at such a cruel and senseless hate crime.
