A READING-born woman who is now a councillor in Wiltshire has been awarded an OBE in the New Year’s honours list for services to the transgender community.
Helen Belcher, who is trans herself, stood for election Wokingham where she narrowly lost out. She was selected as a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Chippenham in 2017 and 2019, losing to Conservative candidate.
In 2010, she formed the trans-awareness charity Trans Media Watch, for which she is a trustee. She is also a director of Transactual, a CIC that aims to improve trans people’s experiences of healthcare, boost legal recognition and media representation.
It is for this work that she was named in the New Year’s Honours, and the citation came as a surprise for her.
“It feels unreal,” she said. “I’ve known for a month or so, and it’s only doing interviews ahead of the list being unveiled that it made me realise it really is happening.
“It was a real surprise, I had to read the letter three or four times for it to sink in.”
She hoped the honour would help open new opportunities for her work.
“I’m hoping it will get me into spaces that have been difficult to get into up to now,” she continued. “There is a lot of work to be done, the political environment seems to be going backwards.
“The award sends a positive message. We won’t be doing anything different as a result, but it’s good for the sector to get recognition.”
Helen said that there would be complaints from some quarters that a trans person has received this honour.
“It’s a shame, it does temper what should be a good time,” she said.
Although she has moved away from the Thames Valley, she still stays true to her roots.
“I’m in touch with lots of friends from Wokingham,” she said.
Given that Helen was surprised to be nominated for the OBE, let alone receive it, it should come as little surprise that she has not planned any celebrations yet.
“We haven’t got that far,” she said. “We might have some friends round in the new year.”
