Being a whistleblower is a difficult, often thankless task. Typically, a lonely pursuit that pits an individual against a more powerful organisation; it is not uncommon to become an outcast — painted as a “troublemaker” and criticised for being “disloyal”. It is an even harder pursuit in an organisation that has no whistleblowing process and whose default purpose is political tribalism.

In reality, whistleblowers are the people who care so deeply about an organisation, the integrity of its purpose and actions that they press organisations to do the right thing. Thwarted by institutional inertia, general arse-covering and personal vilification, many bow out. But some fight on.

This is the story of Liberal Voice for Women, a group of Lib Dem members campaigning for women’s single-sex spaces and sports, who blew the whistle, and who successfully changed the Liberal Democrats.

Last year LVW filed a legal case against the Lib Dem Party for discrimination on the basis of their gender critical beliefs. The case was the culmination of years of letter writing about discrimination against LVW and its members. The party has no formal whistleblowing process and so our letters to senior leaders about various detriments — being banned from having stalls and adverts, being moderated out of Party platforms — normally fell on deaf ears. If we did get a reply, it was usually to dismiss our arguments with one senior leader using their reply to further traduce us.

Within the Party, with...

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