Conservative UK Trans Candidate Running for Seat on EU Parliament

The Conservative party in the United Kingdom put forward a trans candidate for the first time ever to stand in European Parliamentary elections. Sue Pascoe plans to run on an equality platform with a fiscally conservative outlook on economic issues.

The elections come as the departure of the U.K. from the European Union, aka Brexit, looms. Elections will be held May 23. The Brexit process is expected to be complete at the end of October.

Pascoe, hoping to represent an area in the northeast of England, said it's important for British citizens to continue involvement in elections until the nation splits from the EU; six EU parliament seats are up for grabs in the U.K.

"To those who say they won't take part in the European elections I say this. I do not believe we should pay monies to the EU or be subject to its laws and regulations without representation," she wrote on Twitter. "I would always wish our representatives to be Conservatives."

She also released an online video recognizing the historic nature of her candidacy.

"I am standing in the European Elections as the first Conservative trans person ever to do so," she said. "I'm very proud and humbled that my party wishes to have me represent them at one of the defining moments in our Country's history."

Pascoe previously worked as an advisor on inclusion for Britain's publicly-owned Channel 4. She is now a general council member of LGBT+ Conservatives and has worked on party outreach with various minority groups.

Her official campaign biography prominently features her personal journey as a trans woman.

"Sue worked her way up and out of a very difficult deprived background to get to the top of her profession," it reads. "She then gave that all up to become Sue, her true self. This took her back to the bottom of society. Today she has found the preciousness of being authentic with herself and the world around her and the joy of helping others succeed."