Keir Starmer has vowed to ban all forms of conversion therapy if Labour wins the General Election.
Sir Keir branded it “psychologically damaging abuse” but promised his law tackling it would be “trans-inclusive”.
Conversion therapy refers to practices “aiming to change or supress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity”.
He also vowed thugs attacking people because of their race, religion, disability or gender could face longer jail sentences.
Sir Keir said every category of hate crime will be treated “as an aggravated offence”.
A proposal from the SNP government in Scotland to ban conversion therapy will see parents facing up to seven years in prison if they refuse to allow their children to identify as the opposite sex.
Sir Keir told the LGBT+ Labour meeting last night: “We’ll implement a full, trans-inclusive, ban on all forms of conversion therapy.
“We fully support the view that conversion therapy is psychologically damaging abuse.”
Police recorded an 11 per cent rise in hate crimes against transgender people in England and Wales in the last year, according to Home Office figures.
Officials admitted increased discussion of “transgender issues” may have led to offences rising.
And Sir Keir told a meeting in Parliament on Monday night: “We’ll strengthen the law, so every category of hate crime is treated as an aggravated offence.”
He also pledged to “modernise” the Gender Recognition Act, which allows people to legally change their sex.
Labour has vowed to streamline “demeaning” rules requiring transgender people to produce a medical report showing they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
But the party has backed away from allowing anyone to ‘self-ID’ as the opposite sex without any evidence, the policy Scotland introduced a year ago but which was blocked by the UK Government.
Sir Keir insisted Labour has defended LGBT+ rights.
He said: “Look what we did: decriminalised homosexuality, the Equality Act, repealed Section 28, the Gender Recognition Act and the Civil Partnership Act,’ said the Labour leader.
“A whole raft of groundbreaking legislation that moved the dial towards the equal rights LGBT+ people deserve, protected people from discrimination and changed people’s lives.”
