The Liberal Democrats were criticised today over plans for a vote on whether menstruation is not 'just a women's issue' but also one that affects trans people.

Members at the party's annual conference in Bournemouth next month will be asked to agree that periods 'also affect some trans and non-binary people' as part of a wider conference motion on period poverty that includes a call for better access to sanitary products.

It also wants better education for children and teachers 'to ensure an appreciation for the lived experience of menstruation'.

But the motion, put forward by the Young Liberals and a local party branch in London, was criticised by Tory MPs, with Workington's Mark Jenkinson saying: 'Crikey, could they get any more off the rails?'

And feminist campaigner Maya Forstater told GB News: 'Only women menstruate, and this is serious…

'It matters because of safeguarding. Every institution has a responsibility for safeguarding, particularly children and vulnerable people.

'Young girls when they are starting their periods are both children and vulnerable people. And the last thing they need is people in positions of responsibility telling them they don’t know what a man is and what a woman is.'

Members at the event in Bournemouth next month will be asked to agree that periods 'also affect some trans and non-binary people'

It comes after party leader Sir Ed Davey made headlines in May by saying a woman can 'quite clearly' have a penis, in a row over trans rights

Feminist campaigner Maya Forstater told GB News: 'Only women menstruate, and this is serious … it matters because of safeguarding.'

It comes after party leader Sir Ed Davey made headlines in May by saying a woman can 'quite clearly' have a penis in a discussion on trans rights.

Sir Ed was asked for his views on the issue during a wide-ranging radio phone-in.

A caller named Mary asked him on LBC to explain 'what is a woman', saying she was a tactical voter asking 'on behalf of 51 per cent of the population'.

Sir Ed told her 'the vast majority of people whose biological sex is a woman when they were birth (sic), they feel they're women ... but there's this very small number of people who don't feel like that'.

Presenter Nick Ferrari then twice asked: 'Can a woman have a penis?' Eventually, the Lib Dem leader replied: 'Well, quite clearly.'

The conference motion was brought forward by the party's branch in Lambeth, south London, and the Young Liberals.

It states: 'Menstruation is not just a women's issue, and also affects some trans and non-binary people.'

Elsewhere it asks the conference to note that 'period products are a human right, not a luxury', and demands the Government 'introduces a right for people in England to access a choice of free period products'.

A Lib Dem spokesman said: 'Period poverty is an issue that needs addressing urgently. At Liberal Democrat conference, we will be debating policies to deal with the cost-of-living crisis and the crisis in our NHS both caused by this chaotic Conservative Government.'