A Reform UK-run council has removed all transgender-related books from children’s sections in its libraries, the leader has announced.
Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran said in a post on social media the books will be removed with immediate effect in a “victory for common sense in Kent”.
Councillor Paul Webb, cabinet member for communities and regulatory services at the council, said that he acted to remove all the books after concerns from a resident.
In a video posted on X, he said: “I was recently contacted by a concerned member of the public who found trans ideological material and books in the children’s section of one of our libraries.
“I looked into it and this was the case. I have issued an instruction for them all to be removed from the children’s section of any of our libraries. They do not belong in the children’s section of our libraries.
“Our children do not need to be told they were born in the wrong bodies and from today this will stop.”
It is understood that the books will not be completely removed but rather relocated to different sections in libraries.
Ms Kemkaran added in a post on X: “Telling children they’re in the wrong body is wrong and simply unacceptable.”
The book at the centre of the controversy is titled The Autistic Trans Guide to Life, which is described by its publishers as an “essential survival guide gives autistic trans and/or non-binary adults all the tools and strategies they need to live as their very best self”.
It is not yet known exactly which books will be removed and how the council will classify what “trans material” is.
Erin Strawbridge, manager of The Folkestone Bookshop, an LGBT+ bookshop in the county, told BBC Radio Kent: “Censorship does not stop people from learning information but it does send the message, and it’s sending a message to the young people of Kent that they’re not safe and they’re not welcome if they’re LGBT or trans.
“It just pushes kids into the closet, into worse mental health situations. It’s just going to scare young people.”
The county council is in charge of 99 community-run libraries.
A statement from Kent County Council said: “Kent County Council have confirmed that children are not and will not be exposed to adult transgender literature in our libraries.
“Staff at the county’s 99 libraries have been asked to ensure that books are always stocked in age-appropriate categories and that no adult literature makes its way into areas specifically aimed at children, or where children will be selecting books, such as the public welcome displays.
“It follows feedback from a resident who spotted a transgender book aimed at adults in a public display at the entrance of one library in Kent. The book has since been relocated to a section that is unlikely to be visited by children.”
Mr Webb added: “We rightly place child protection and safeguarding at the very top of our list of priorities, as should all adults, especially those that hold public office.”
The Kent Library Service confirmed that staff will “ensure that only age-appropriate books are being displayed in children’s sections of libraries” or areas where children will be selecting books to borrow.
