Exclusive: Alliance Deputy Leader leaves trans allies furious with comments on puberty blocker ban
Attendees at a recent Rural Prides meeting in Northern Ireland were left ‘seething’ after the ‘arrogance’ displayed by Alliance Deputy Leader Eóin Tennyson regarding the puberty blocker ban.
With increasing numbers of Northern Ireland’s Pride organisations barring Executive Party politicians from their events over this betrayal, multiple sources who attended the meeting have confirmed that Tennyson’s comments were met with fury and disbelief.
Multiple attendees added that he claimed he had not seen evidence that puberty blockers are safe, although he’d be happy to read it if anyone had anything.
Additionally, sources reported that Tennyson said he supported the ban and left attendees feeling he was telling them, that, in time, the same people protesting the ban now might thank Alliance for looking out for trans kids if they turn out to be harmful. This was met with a furious reaction from all attendees, including other political representatives.
Green Party Belfast City Councillor Anthony Flynn, who said he was “absolutely seething” said he also confronted Tennyson after the meeting, telling him that was one of the “most arrogant things I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Flynn added: “Our party’s position has always been that we listen to trans people. How is this actually impacting people’s lives? That’s what matters.”
People Before Profit’s Fiona Ferguson was unequivocal: “It could not be plainer that the Cass Report and the subsequent bans on trans healthcare were motivated by right-wing transphobia. Such is the inability of some so-called progressive parties to challenge transphobia that they have kowtowed to pressure and introduced the ban locally through Stormont.
“We see the same pattern with migration and the dog-whistle comments from parties in power North and South. We should not accept mealy-mouthed excuses from such politicians. As society continues to polarise, those of us who stand against hatred and division must band together and mount a political challenge. The response to racism that we saw on the streets of Belfast last summer could be replicated in support of our trans and non-binary community under political attack, if the parties, trade unions and community groups who stand against bigotry get organised. People Before Profit are ready to work with anyone who wants to turn this vision into a reality.”
Causeway Pride, one of the Pride groups present which has already banned Executive politicians, gave me a statement condemning the remarks and the broader Alliance betrayal of trans youth. They said, “We had a meeting with three of Northern Ireland’s political parties who we believed to be trans allies. Regrettably, after the meeting, I have to call into question the ally credentials of the Alliance Party.
“Whilst the Greens and People Before Profit showed a clear desire to work with us, the Alliance Rep served up an extra-large helping of gaslighting.
“But we aren’t biting.
“We will continue to engage with the party as we try to remove this cruel and inhumane ban on puberty blockers, but it will be a long time - and involve a lot of work on their part - before we could ever consider calling the Alliance Party allies again.”
Gwen Montgomery of Mams4TransNI, another attendee, pointed out the contradictions within Alliance’s justifications for supporting the ban: “It’s clear that the Alliance Deputy Leader and Leader are not on the same page on this issue. Naomi Long told me Alliance backed the ban because of an unsafe prescribing environment, not because the drugs themselves might be harmful. Now, Eóin is saying there is no evidence they are safe? Which one is it?”
She continued: “As for implying trans people could be thanking Alliance, how dare he! Our kids are suffering right now. Real harm is being done right now. And we should be thankful for that? I am furious.”
When contacted for comment, Tennyson said “That is not an accurate reflection of my remarks at the meeting” but did not engage any further beyond a thinly-veiled legal threat. There was no response to a second email asking him to clarify his remarks.
I was also told by multiple sources that Alliance had instructed their politicians not to speak or post publicly about the puberty blocker ban, although that seems to have changed due to their conference this weekend and the pressure being applied. Long was featured on the front page of the Belfast Telegraph on Friday, now saying the ban made her ‘uncomfortable’.
Tennyson, meanwhile, appeared comfortable on Sunday Politics Northern Ireland. He said, “At the end of the day, whilst I accept that the decision around puberty blockers has caused hurt and distress in the current environment, we felt that, on balance, we had to follow the medical and scientific advice because we are an evidence-based party.
“However, I would also say to those other parties who were at the Executive table, should the clinical trials conclude and the advice at that stage is these medications are safe, I hope they will follow our approach and support us in lifting that ban when it is appropriate to do so.”
“An evidence-based party”?
Peer-reviewed research worldwide continues to confirm that puberty blockers are both safe and lifesaving for trans youth. Switzerland’s 2024 report, one of the latest in a long line of studies that I and others informed Alliance about, found the exact opposite of what Cass claims.
The evidence and science is clear: puberty blockers save lives.
In Poland, they also recently released clinical guidance on trans youth healthcare in which they define the Cass Review as of "low scientific value and credibility".
To claim ignorance of this overwhelming body of evidence while purporting to be both ‘evidence-based’ and acting in the best interests of trans kids is, as Causeway Pride put it, ‘gaslighting’.
None of what we have seen from Alliance is the behaviour of allies. This is the behaviour of a party that wants to claim the mantle of progressivism while voting to deprive trans kids of healthcare. It is a party that thinks it knows better than the people it claims to be trying to protect.
Alliance cannot have it both ways and trans people, and our actual allies, see them for exactly what they are.