Maeve Halligan vs. transgender people

Maeve Halligan is a British musician, graduate student, and anti-transgender activist who co-founded the trans-exclusionary Cambridge University Society of Women. Halligan has written for anti-trans publications, including The Free Press, The Telegraph, Spiked, and on a personal Substack.

In 2026, Halligan was announced as an opening speaker at a London conference organized by anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) and Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender titled “Rethinking Youth Gender Medicine.”

Background

Maeve Isabella Halligan was born on February 19, 2003 to economist, broadcaster, and columnist Liam Halligan (born 1969) and professional soccer player turned journalist and author Lucy Ward (born 1974). After attending The Perse School and Hills Road Sixth Form College, Halligan earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Bristol in 2025. Halligan entered Cambridge University that year at Newnham College.

Halligan has been involved in Battle of Ideas events since 2022, originally as a musical act and later as a speaker and panelist. Hallgan was a representative for Student Academics For Academic Freedom (SAFAF), a branch of UK group Academic for Academic Freedom (AFAF).

The Halligan family performs in the folk music group The Hooligans based in Saffron Walden, North Essex. The band includes Maeve’s parent Liam and sibling Ailis.

Anti-trans activism

In 2025, Halligan was upset that Newnham College at Cambridge would continue to allow transgender students despite the Supreme Court interpretation of the Equalities Act 2010. Halligan said the new policy means that it is “no longer an all-female college.”

Halligan claimed that “university culture is obsessed with gender ideology,” adding:

“All you can see are pronoun badges, rainbow flags, literature about transgender issues […] They don’t see enough dissent from trans ideology to realise that it represents the majority view outside the university environment. Universities are totally doubling down. In Bristol, it was everywhere. I thought going to Cambridge, maybe it’d be less woke, and there’d be a difference after the Supreme Court ruling. Again, I was wrong.”

Halligan co-founded the trans-exclusionary student organization Cambridge University Society of Women with Thea Sewell and Serena Worley and served as its first president. Their speaker series has included Julie Bindel and Victoria Smith. According to an article in The Times, “In its first two weeks, it raised more than £13,000 in donations from more than 200 donors, including £3,000 from Alex Gerko, a billionaire hedge fund founder who supports maths teaching in UK schools.” The group was widely covered in anti-trans media.

In May 2026, Halligan gave a speech during a debate at the Cambridge Union claiming that the LGBTQ+ movement fails its community. The speech was widely covered in anti-trans media.

In 2026, Halligan and Dianne Hayter were announced as opening speakers at a 2026 London conference organized by Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (CAN-SG) and anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) titled “Rethinking Youth Gender Medicine.”

References

Rowan, Charlie (December 18, 2025). SU reluctantly registers controversial women’s soc. The Varsity https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/30850

Smith, Faron (November 28 2025). Uni registers controversial new women’s society. The Varisty https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/30777

Murray, Calum; Middlemiss, Georgie (November 14, 2025). Controversial women’s society receives over £13,000 in donations. The Varsity https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/30664

Green, Katie (November 9, 2025). Cambridge University’s new women’s society told to ‘choke’ as hundreds call for ban. Cambridgeshire Live https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-universitys-new-womens-society-32839694

Rowan, Charlie (October 31, 2025). Students launch women’s society excluding trans women. The Varsity https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/30556

Anti-trans coverage

Phillips, Jess (May 17, 2026). Daughter of Kate Garraway’s new boyfriend in blistering anti-trans speech. Express https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/2206534/daughter-kate-garraways-new-boyfriend

McGuigan, Shannon (May 16, 2026). Daughter of Kate Garraway’s new love interest Liam Halligan becomes internet star with barnstorming speech castigating gay rights movement for joining the trans lobby. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15823553/Daughter-Kate-Garraways-love-Liam-Halligan-internet-gay-rights-movement-trans-lobby.html

Sullivan, Andrew (May 15, 2026). A star is born. The Weekly Dish https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/i/197799365/a-star-is-born

Sewell, Thea (April 10, 2026). No sign of the Cambridge pro-trans mob when activism is really needed. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/10/no-sign-of-the-cambridge-trans-mob-when-activism-is-needed/

Sewell, Thea (February 2, 2026). One of the world’s best universities has been captured by trans-obsessed zealots. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/02/cambridge-university-captured-trans-zealots/

Harding, Eleanor (December 14, 2025). Cambridge student sets up free-speech society after being targeted for reading ‘Terf’ gender-critical books. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15382667/Cambridge-student-free-speech-Terf-gender-critical-books.html

Sigsworth, Tim (December 13, 2025). ‘I dared to question gender theory at Cambridge. Students carved Terf into my door.’ The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/13/i-dared-to-question-gender-theory-at-cambridge-students/

Dent, Megan (December 4, 2025). A New Feminism at Cambridge. The Dispatch https://thedispatch.com/article/cambridge-society-women-transgender-identity-sex/

Woolcock, Nicola (December 18, 2025). Student union ‘no choice’ but to approve Cambridge Society of Women. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/cambridge-university-society-of-women-registered-student-union-lpdcrvr5v

Freeman, Hadley (November 23, 2025). At Cambridge, three brave students are taking on the trans bullies. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/cambridge-students-trans-bullies-gc03ff6q3

Bindel, Julie (October 31, 2025). Cambridge has been infected by trans activism. We’re launching a battle for women’s rights. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/31/cambridge-womens-group-gender-ideology/

McDonald, Dan (March 11, 2025). ‘Fruitless and foolish!’ Female-only Cambridge college confirms trans women ARE allowed. GBNews https://www.gbnews.com/news/woke-madness-cambridge-university-newnham-college-transgender-trans-women

Fox, Claire (October 25, 2023). The Hooligans raise hell at the Battle. https://www.academyofideas.uk/p/the-hooligans-raise-hell-at-the-battle

Selected writing by Halligan

Halligan, Maeve (May 22, 2026). How the Trans Agenda Left Gay and Lesbian People Behind. The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/maeve-halligan-cambridge-union-lgbtq-activism

Halligan, Maeve (May 21, 2026). I stood up against trans extremism at the Cambridge Union. The result surprised me. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/21/i-stood-up-against-trans-extremism-at-cambridge-union/

Halligan, Maeve (May 19, 2026). Maeve Halligan’s Cambridge Union Speech: This House Believes Modern LGBTQ+ Activism Fails Its Community. https://maevehalligan.substack.com/p/maeve-halligans-cambridge-union-speech

Halligan, Maeve (November 29, 2025). The vicious intolerance of the student gender zealots. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/11/29/the-vicious-intolerance-of-the-student-gender-zealots/

Media

Piers Morgan Uncensored with Piers Morgan and Maeve Halligan (May 19, 2026). Is Transgenderism Dying? Piers Morgan Interviews Feminist Cambridge Student. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBCielMMJ7U

Jack Jewell with Maeve Halligan (May 19, 2026). Helen Webberley’s Homophobia & Misogyny Are On Full Display. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfFy0iVXJe0

Battle of Ideas with Maeve Halligan (May 15, 2026). Inside the radicalisation of Gen Z | Maeve Halligan | Battle of Ideas North 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7F9IJ9YELE

Amala Ekpunobi (May 15, 2025). SHE’S RIGHT: Modern LGBTQ+ Activism Fails Its Community. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WENvGxXps-k

Cambridge Union with Alphonso David, Buck Angel, Andrew Boff, Sammy McDonald, Maeve Halligan, and Helen Webberley (May 14, 2026). This House Believes Modern LGBTQ+ Activism Fails Its Community | Cambridge Union. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE0JY9d7f-w

Battle of Ideas with Emma Gilland, Maeve Halligan, Jake Weston, Sebastian Moore, and Georgina Mumford (March 19, 2026). Are young people becoming more extreme? Full debate and Q&A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH53o2LRFS0

Sex Matters with Nicole Jones, Maeve Halligan, Thea Sewell and Serena Worley (March 13, 2026). Young women pushing back | Ft. Cambridge University Society of Women. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpKUKMsxi7A

Committee for Academic Freedom with Maeve Halligan (December 19, 2025). Interview with Maeve Halligan, co-founder of Cambridge University Society of Women. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5ukqjnekSA

Next Gen with Elliot Bewick and Maeve Halligan (August 26, 2025). Why Universities Are Desperate to CANCEL Us – Maeve Halligan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6eyA9JFJ1g

mrmenno with Menno Kuijper and Maeve Halligan (May 30, 2025). Brave Young Students Confront Bizarre Trans Rally | Interview with Maeve Halligan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGvVw7miPCg

Battle of Ideas with Maeve Halligan (2024, posted April 6, 2025). UK students are being ripped off | Maeve Halligan | Battle of Ideas 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bfLXDLRMcY