Joanna Cherry is a Scots lawyer, politician, and anti-transgender activist. Cherry is an advisor to anti-trans group Sex Matters.
Background
Joanna Catherine Cherry was born on March 18, 1966 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Cherry was educated at St Margaret’s Convent School before studying law at the University of Edinburgh. After graduating, Cherry worked as a research assistant for the Scottish Law Commission in 1990, then practised as a solicitor at Brodies until 1995. That same year, Cherry was admitted as an advocate, focusing on employment, health and safety, mental health, and professional negligence law. From 2003 to 2008, Cherry served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Government, followed by roles as Advocate Depute and Senior Advocate Depute from 2008 to 2011. In 2009, Cherry was appointed Queen’s Counsel (later King’s Counsel).
Cherry joined the Scottish National Party in 2008 after previously supporting Labour. She founded “Lawyers for Yes” ahead of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. In the 2015 United Kingdom general election, Cherry was elected MP for Edinburgh South West, serving from May 2015 to May 2024. From 2015 to 2021, Cherry acted as SNP Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Justice Secretary in the House of Commons. Cherry was re-elected in 2017 and 2019, and in 2019 became the lead litigant in the Supreme Court case that ruled Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament unlawful.
Cherry was removed from the SNP front bench on February 2021, later serving as chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights from 2022 to 2024. Cherry lost in the 2024 general election and subsequently ruled out standing in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
Anti-trans activism
On Cherry’s profile for Sex Matters, Cherry stated:
“Sex matters to me as a feminist and a lesbian. It’s the foundation of our oppression as women and, without sex, as JK Rowling famously said, there can be no same-sex attraction.”
References
Morrison, Hamish (August 15, 2022). Sandyford gender clinic should close, say Joanna Cherry and Robin Harper. The National https://www.thenational.scot/news/20657407.sandyford-gender-clinic-close-say-joanna-cherry-robin-harper/
Matchett, Conor (November 17, 2021). SNP’s LGBT and student wings call for leadership to remove whip from Joanna Cherry. The Scotsman https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/snps-lgbt-and-student-wings-call-for-leadership-to-remove-whip-from-joanna-cherry-3461057
Wakefield, Lily (November 15, 2021). SNP MP Joanna Cherry suggests trans conversion therapy should be legal. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/11/15/joanna-cherry-snp-trans-conversion-therapy/
Hopkins, Tim (June 7, 2021). Can Joanna Cherry please spell out her objection to Stonewall’s advice? The National
Staff report (February 10, 2021). MP Joanna Cherry describes ‘campaign of abuse’ over views. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-56004722
Rodger, Hannah (November 10, 2019). SNP Women’s Pledge ‘disingenuous.’ The Herald https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18026703.snp-womens-pledge-disingenuous/
Anti-trans coverage
Horne, Marc (December 6, 2019). SNP members ‘victims of LGBT campaign.’ The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/snp-members-victims-of-lgbt-campaign-dl5pbc2mk
McLaughlin, Marc (November 23, 2019). I will not suppress my views on gender, says Joanna Cherry, SNP hopeful. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/i-will-not-suppress-my-views-on-gender-says-snp-hopeful-lm738vzbb
Brooks, Libby (October 14, 2019). Several women ‘close to quitting SNP over gender recognition plans.’ The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/14/snp-women-close-to-quitting-gender-recognition-proposals-trans-rights-scotland
(). Robin Harper and Joanna Cherry condemn Sandyford children’s gender services. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/article/876da8f0-1c1b-11ed-add4-d333562d46fb
Selected writing by Cherry
Cherry, Joanna (June 4, 2021). Joanna Cherry: We must work to ensure equalities policies conform to the law. The National https://www.thenational.scot/news/19349071.joanna-cherry-must-work-ensure-equalities-policies-conform-law/
Resources
Sex Matters (sex-matters.org)
- Joanna Cherry KC
- sex-matters.org/about-us/advisory-group/joanna-cherry-qc
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)