Chris Northwood

@chrisn.xyz

789 Followers 177 Following

trans 🏳️‍⚧️ (she/her); autistic; tech lead for a charity & author of The Full Stack Developer; councillor for Ancoats & Beswick/deputy Lib Dem leader on Manchester City Council 🔶 (promoted by Lib Dems, 1 Vincent Sq SW1P 2PN)

Chris Northwood and Richard Kilpatrick stand at a road junction in front of a Liberal Democrats branded billboard with a laughing photo of Nigel Farage holding lots of money that says "Ten Years On... Do You Feel Better Off?"
A selfie in a conference hall holding a conference pass
Dear Lucy Powell MP, I write to you the day after your colleague Bridget Phillipson laid the updated EHRC code of conduct in Parliament. As you will know, Parliament now has a time window in which to debate this code and choose to accept or reject it. But there is no guarantee that it will do so, and if it does, there will not be any trans voices directly heard in that debate. In trying to interpret the Supreme Court judgement, the EHRC guidance has produced guidance that is muddled and hard to interpret. Legal commentators have argued that it is contradictory and in key cases provides no real guidance on how to act in a way that doesn’t cause discrimination. This is not a standard, uncontroversial statutory instrument legislating on a technical detail, it is one that will directly impact people’s lives. It deserves Parliamentary time. But even if Parliament debates and rejects the guidance, trans people will still remain in limbo. Only new legislation that restores a definition of sex that matches how people actually live their life, rather than a hard to interpret and enforce technical one that erases people’s identity, will bring back common sense to equality law. A debate on this code of practice must be the start of a process to bring around this change, and this change must include trans voices at every opportunity. You have previously provided reassurances that you support trans people here in Manchester. Now is the time to put those words in action, and to use your unique position as Deputy Leader of the Labour party to do so. The next few weeks risk enshrining harm for the trans community in statutory guidance. It must not happen silently, and deserves better than being lost in the noise of a proxy leadership battle happening in Makerfield. This must be the turning point to stop the rollback of trans rights in our country. Although hope is in short supply today for trans people, I await your response with it. Yours sincerely, Cllr Chris Northwood (she/her)
Four people stand posing for a photo in the council chamber in Manchester
Chris Northwood, a white trans woman, stands in front a Progress flag in an office whilst wearing a hi-vis vest
Chris takes a selfie, smiling at the camera wearing a hospital gown, in a hospital room
A meme from the TV show community showing a man walking in with a pile of pizza looking at a scene of chaos before him. The man with the pizza is labelled "Manchester Lib Dems selecting a candidate" and the scene has one man fighting fire labeled "Labour fighting itself" and then people collapsed in the corner labelled "Reform proving themselves as Tories 2.0"
Chris & Meg stand in front of a Christmas tree drinking champagne
A blonde woman smiles into the camera, holding two packs of estrogen.
A desk with monitor arms and a mounted laptop, microphone stand and tower on the floor. It is softly lit with LED lights.
Chris Northwood holds a glass award that says The Patsy Calton Award 2025 Liberal Democrats on it in front of a progress pride flag.
I am wearing a t shirt saying Elect The Dolls and holding a shield given by two presenters
Chris Northwood, a blonde trans woman smiles into the camera wearing Pride flag earrings made from Lego studs and black t shirt in the style of "Protect The Dolls" that instead says Elect The Dolls
Dear Lucy Powell, I write off the back of media reports that the Equality and Human Rights Commission has in the last few days submitted an updated Code of Practice for ministerial approval. The draft Code of Practice, if implemented, risks devastating the lives of the many trans people you represent in your constituency, including myself. It would make it impossible for us to live our lives without putting ourselves in dangerous situations, or having to constantly out ourselves. It is crucial that the Code of Practice now receives Parliamentary scrutiny, both to ensure that the EHRC do not undermine the intent of Parliament when it introduced the Equality Act in 2010 in implementing changes that go beyond the Supreme Court ruling, and to ensure that the EHRC have correctly protected the rights of trans people in the code, following the Supreme Court's statement that our rights remain protected. I have attached the briefing from the Trans Solidarity Alliance which contains more information on the impact of the draft code being implemented. Parliament has a crucial role in scrutinising this work and ensuring that the final code fixes the many issues of the draft. As Leader of the House of Commons, you have an important role in helping ensure that time is made for this scrutiny, and upholding the integrity of Parliament and its intent with the Equality Act. Manchester Central's trans population is depending on you today to do this. To let a code be implemented without scrutiny puts our ability to live normal lives at risk. Yours sincerely, Councillor Chris Northwood (she/her) Liberal Democrat councillor in Ancoats & Beswick
An empty stage with a microphone and a backdrop that says Sooz Kempner Character Activist @SoozUK - follow me on Twitter. Guarantee follow back. GUARANTEE follow back. A caption at the top of the photo says "10 years ago".
Chris Northwood, a blonde trans woman smiles into the camera stood in front of a progress pride flag. A label with the word woman is stuck to her forehead.
A ramp at the end of the Ashton Canal bridge - a temporary piece of fencing sticks out like a sore thumb
Two women smile into a camera on a pier with the beach in the background
Councillor Chris Northwood stands in front of a construction compound for a bridge across the Ashton Canal
Chris has blonde hair and pink tips with layers falling across her face
Two trans girls hold Dominos pizza boxes
A TV with Chris Northwood on it. A subtitle says "and Chris Northwood"
A group of people sit in a TV studio
A tower PC case (Fractal Design Meshify 2 RGB) on the floor with the front case fans set to the colours of the trans flag
A photograph outside a building labelled "The Courthouse" which shows a woman holding a child.
Councillor Chris Northwood stands in front of a one storey building with a damaged roof and several tiles on the floor in front of it
A screenshot of Spotify Wrapped. Top artists: Charli xcx, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Public Service Broadcasting, Kim Petras. Top songs: Red Wine Supernova, Von dutch, HOT TO GO!, 360, Rush. Minutes listened: 71,740.
A screenshot of the game Celeste, with 8-bit style graphics of a red-haired girl standing in a snowy scene by a monument. Text reads: Celeste Mountain. This memorial dedicated to those who perished on the climb.
Chris Northwood stands in front of a green light on a pedestrian crossing on a busy road
A white trans woman with long brown hair wears a dress that fades from blue to white in front of a Christmas tree. She holds a glass of champagne.
Spotify Wrapped. Top artists: 1 Taylor Swift, 2 Charli XCX, 3 Dua Lipa, 4 Kim Petras, 5 MUNA. Top Songs: 1 Dance The Night, 2 Walk, 3 2 Be Loved, 4 inferno, 5 Anti-Hero. Minutes listened: 74,146. Top genre: pop
A photo of Chris Northwood, smiling, sat in a cab of a train at the Crewe Heritage Centre
A photo of Chris Northwood, a white trans woman with mid-length brown hair wearing a black and white dress with star earrings in front of a crowd of people, backlit by blue and pink backlights