LGBT+ History Month

Thursday 13th February 2025 Commons Chamber

13:22

[The Minister for Equalities (Dame Nia Griffith)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered LGBT+ History Month.

For most people under the age of 40, it is almost impossible to imagine a society in which LGBT+ people were not visible and integrated. Most, if not all, of us have LGBT+ family, friends and colleagues; in this Chamber, one in 10 Members identifies as LGBT+, a world record for any Parliament, as far as we know. Yet it was not long ago that LGBT+ people were either invisible or villainised. If an LGBT+ person was hospitalised, their partner was not recognised as next of kin. Trans people on TV were confined to clichés and offensive stereotypes. According to the papers, LGBT+ people were deviants to be feared.

That British society is now largely a welcoming place for LGBT+ people is due to the tireless and patient efforts of countless individuals and groups, from the early efforts of campaigners in the 1950s, quietly seeking the recommendations of Lord Wolfenden and seeing them made into law, to the loud protests against section 28 in the 1980s and the moving fight for marriage equality in the 2010s. These people have not only driven change, but enriched our society.

The Stonewall riots in America were a landmark moment in the global fight for LGBT+ equality. From then on, unapologetic visibility and authenticity would be the banner under which LGBT+ people would organise. Those lessons were learned, and were adapted to the UK, where we have our own history of struggle for LGBT+ equality. Our first Pride march was held in 1972, when a few hundred brave souls wound their way from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. The trepidation those individuals must have experienced may be hard for many of us today to imagine; yet alongside their trepidation, there must also have been a strong sense of action, achievement and community.

It was undoubtedly that sense of community that played a part in one of the more colourful moments in our history. Some 37 years ago, in this very building, in an inverse of “It’s Raining Men”, a number of lesbians abseiled their way from the Public Gallery on to the Benches of the other place in protest against the passing of section 28. Back in Wales, in the area my family is from, the traditional mining communities of the Neath, Swansea and Dulais valleys were perhaps somewhat bemused to be supported financially and morally during the miners’ strike of 1984 by Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners; in turn, they were repaid by the legendary friendship and loyalty of many of those in the mining communities in 1985, when the miners showed their support by joining the Pride marches in Cardiff and London.

[Dawn Butler (Brent East) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for her incredible speech and for her commitment to this House. I know of my hon. Friend’s journey when she was a teacher. Does she agree that it is important for allies to stick together and fight for other people’s rights, as well as our own, if we are truly to move forward with recognising and appreciating people and allowing them to be their authentic selves?

[Dame Nia Griffith]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we have to stick together in the fight for rights. I know she has been a fantastic ally of the LGBT+ community.

I am proud to say that the history of LGBT+ rights in this country is intertwined with the history of Labour in government. It was a Labour Government who decriminalised homosexuality in 1967, and a Labour Government who equalised the age of consent in 2000 and repealed the hateful section 28 in 2003. It was a Labour Government who lifted the ban on LGBT+ people serving in the armed forces; created the Gender Recognition Act 2004; pioneered civil partnerships; introduced laws to allow unmarried couples, including same-sex couples, to apply for adoption; and laid down the landmark Equality Act 2010. With each milestone, consensus emerged across the political spectrum that LGBT+ people deserve protection, recognition and opportunity. LGBT+ people were finally viewed as just that: people.

Even the Conservative party, long opposed to much of what I have just outlined, began to change its view. It was, after all, a Conservative Prime Minister, in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, who introduced same-sex marriage into law, albeit heavily dependent on Labour votes. On that point, I give a special thanks to Baroness Featherstone, the then Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister who pushed through the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 with tireless effort.

However, in recent years, that consensus has begun to fray. Increasingly, voices across society and this Chamber are pushing division, anxiety and apprehension. While the tone of debate on LGBT+ rights has always been contentious, the level of toxicity has perhaps never been so intense. Our answer to this must be to lead by example and conduct ourselves in measured, considered and respectful language. It is vital that we—regardless of party or position—promote a tone and quality of debate that, while at times may provoke impassioned disagreement, refuses to lower itself to the politics of division and anxiety.

For decades, Labour in government has sought to advance the rights, protections and opportunities of LGBT+ people, and this Government are no different. Take, for example, conversion practices. We know that they are abuse, that they do not work and that they leave a legacy of painful memories and lasting mental health problems. The previous Government did nothing to ban this abhorrent practice—this Government will be different. That is why we committed to publishing draft legislation in the King’s Speech, detailing our plan to introduce a fully trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices. Of course, while it is important that we protect people from these abusive practices, the Government have been clear that any ban must not cover legitimate psychological support, treatment or non-directive counselling. It must also respect the important role that teachers, religious leaders, parents and carers can play in supporting those exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity.

In our manifesto, we also committed to modernising, simplifying and reforming gender recognition law while upholding the Equality Act and its provisions on single-sex exceptions. We will remove indignities for trans people, who deserve support and acceptance, while retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a specialist doctor. We will set out our next steps on this work in due course.

I want to touch on the important work this Government are undertaking around sexual health. Everyone in this House today is aware of the terrible toll that HIV and AIDS took upon the LGBT+ community during the 1980s and ’90s. During this time, thousands of young gay and bisexual men and trans people lost their lives. Since then, attitudes have changed through the work of so many courageous individuals. Many of us remember the courage of the then MP for Islington and South Finsbury, Chris, now Lord, Smith. Already the first openly gay MP, in 2005 he announced his HIV-positive status, becoming the first Member of this House to acknowledge their diagnosis.

As set out in our manifesto, HIV is a key priority for the Government, and we have commissioned a new plan to end HIV transmissions in England by 2030. We have shown our commitment to that. Just this week, the Prime Minister showed us all how easy and quick an HIV test can be. Back in November, the Prime Minister confirmed £27 million of additional funding to expand the highly successful NHS emergency department opt-out HIV testing programme. In regard to opt-out testing, we know it works well and is able to reach those who are less likely to engage with sexual health services. During the past 27 months, over 2 million HIV tests have been conducted through the programme.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I was not going to intervene on that point, but I was reminded of my Uncle Stephen who sadly passed away in the ’90s following a positive HIV diagnosis and I wanted to take this opportunity to mention him in this place. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Thank you. Does the Minister agree that it is so important that we end the stigma around HIV to support more people, so that people like my Uncle Stephen do not have their lives ended prematurely?

[Dame Nia Griffith]

I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning a very, very personal experience of the terrible losses we saw in the 1980s and 1990s. He is absolutely right. From those very first moments, when we were perhaps fearful to be the first person to wear the red ribbon on 1 December, we can now hopefully combat that stigma. But we know there is still a lot to do worldwide to combat stigma and ensure people get the treatments that are available.

Last week, I had the privilege to visit Fast Track Cymru in Cardiff and hear about the innovative work it is doing to eradicate the transmission of HIV, including the test and post service now available in Wales.

Before I move on to issues relating to trans and gender-questioning youth, I am sure I do not need to remind Members of my earlier words urging measured, considered and respectful debate. I am pleased to confirm that NHS England has opened three children and young people’s gender services, in the north-west, London and Bristol. The services operate under an innovative model and embed multidisciplinary teams in specialist children’s hospitals. The services have begun seeing patients from the national waiting list. A fourth service will open in the east of England in spring. NHS England remains on schedule to deliver a gender clinic in each region of England by 2026.

On puberty blockers, I am aware of the views of many on the subject and how sensitive it can be. In March last year, NHS England took the decision not to commission the routine use of puberty blockers for the treatment of gender incongruence, informed by an evidence review conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The findings were echoed in the Cass review and in accompanying systematic reviews conducted by the University of York, which found insufficient evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty blockers for adolescents. There is a clear time for this order to be reviewed in 2027. Better-quality evidence is critical if the NHS is to provide reliable transparent information and advice to support children and young people, and their parents and carers, in making potentially life-changing decisions. That is why we are supporting NHS England to set up a study into the impacts of puberty-suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence. The trial aims to begin recruiting participants in spring 2025.

On education, as many are aware, before venturing into politics I was, by profession, a comprehensive school teacher. Back in the ’80s, section 28, introduced into law by the then Conservative Government, banned the “promotion of homosexuality” or

“the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.”

In the classroom, if a pupil was verbally being hateful or discriminatory towards one of their peers, I did not want it to go unchallenged but found myself just telling them not to use such language or risk upsetting someone. Anything more explicit could have been potentially promoting homosexuality and breaking the law, and risked me losing my job. I did not protect those pupils who were the object of such comments in the way that they should have been protected. I should have done more. Today, the notion that an LGBT+ family is pretend is absurd to most. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to find same-sex parents picking up their children from school.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

I appreciate the Minister’s apology, but to have taken such a stance would have meant her losing her job. Although we can always reflect and do better in hindsight, we have to be kind to ourselves and give ourselves the space to be able to see the grace in ourselves as well.

[Dame Nia Griffith]

I thank my hon. Friend for her very kind comments on the issue.

Even today, it does not mean that there are no challenges. Coming out, particularly to family or classmates, is still challenging and scary, with all the worry of how it might be perceived and the fear of bullying.

In 2018, the previous Government introduced LGBT+ people into the relationships, sex and health education curriculum. The reality of diverse family types would, in stark contrast to section 28, be taught as a fact of life in modern Britain. As the House is aware, the RSHE and gender-questioning pupil guidance is currently under review. The Government are engaging with stakeholders, including parents, teachers and pupils. The Government are also drawing from the available evidence, including the Cass review, to finalise the guidance. As the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson), said in her first month in office, children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of any decisions on RSHE and gender-questioning guidance.

Another area I wish to touch on today is LGBT+ veterans and personnel in the armed forces. In 2021, Falklands veteran Major General Alastair Bruce married his husband in full military regalia. It was celebrated in regional and national media, yet when he joined the Army in 1979 it was illegal to be both LGBT+ and a member of our armed forces. As a result, the general was forced to hide part of himself for decades just to be afforded the right to serve his country. It was not until 2000 that that harmful policy was rectified, so that ability, not identity, determines if one is able to serve their country. In 2023, Lord Etherton delivered the results and recommendations of his independent review into the period of the ban on LGBT+ personnel. Just this week, at an event to mark 25 years since its lifting, I heard some of the harrowing stories of those affected by that ban.

The Government are committed to delivering in full the recommendations of Lord Etherton’s review. Only last month, the winning design for a new LGBT+ memorial for armed forces personnel was unveiled, soon to be housed at the National Arboretum. In December, the Ministry of Defence detailed to the House a financial redress scheme that seeks to acknowledge the consequences of the ban. The Government have increased the financial redress scheme from the original £50 million allocated by the previous Government to £75 million, an increase of 50%. I strongly urge any eligible veterans from that time to contact the scheme as soon as they are able.

More widely, 10 years ago the United Kingdom was ranked as the No. 1 nation in Europe for LGBT+ rights, protections and safety. The UK was a global example not only of acceptance but opportunity. But 10 years of subsequent Conservative Governments has undermined that achievement. From shelving their own LGBT action plan to the embarrassing boycott of their own international LGBT conference and the flip-flopping and delays on banning conversion practices, the Conservative party slid backwards towards the politics of division. This Government aim to reverse that trend. The UK is proud to defend the human rights of LGBT+ people at home and around the world. We are proud members of the Equal Rights Coalition, which is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the protection of rights for LGBT+ people. The UK believes that human rights are universal and apply equally to all people. That includes those who are LGBT+, who are some of the most systematically persecuted individuals in the world. Currently, 63 countries criminalise consensual same-sex acts, 13 can impose the death penalty, and at least 49 use legislation to criminalise or harass transgender and gender-diverse people.

The criminalisation of LGBT+ people often stems from colonial-era legislation, much of it imposed by the UK itself. These laws uphold outdated views that undermine the rights of LGBT+ people. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now. Our network of more than 280 diplomatic missions works to tackle discrimination and end the violence and persecution that persist today. Our £40 million programme is helping to improve political, social and economic empowerment by addressing outdated, discriminatory laws, promoting protective legislation, enabling civil society organisations, and supporting the most vulnerable LGBT+ people in conflict and crisis.

Today I have shared the Government’s commitments in detail. This Government stand ready to deliver for LGBT+ people, ending the dithering of recent years and lowering the temperature of toxic debate. Let me end by saying, as part of the LGBT+ community myself and as the Minister for Equalities, that it is a privilege to open this debate, and I look forward to the contributions of Members on both sides of the House.

13:40

[Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)]

It is always a pleasure to stand at the Dispatch Box on behalf of his Majesty’s loyal Opposition, but I particularly welcome the chance to take part in this debate during LGBT+ History Month, which was first celebrated in 2005 and has been celebrated every February since then—I wish it a very happy 20th birthday. I welcomed the Minister’s opening speech, and, in particular, her updates on the Cass review of how we support young people and their parents and carers.

The theme of this year’s LGBT+ History Month is activism and social change, and it is very pleasing that some Members are currently in Westminster Hall debating National HIV Testing Week. As we have heard, in the last few decades some truly remarkable men and women have fought successfully for social change and, more substantially, a complete sea change in social attitudes to LGBT+ people—such a change, indeed, that in 2019, under the Conservatives, Alan Turing was pictured on the £50 note. What progress! The fact that we are now rightly, properly and joyfully able to celebrate gay marriage is another huge step forward, and, as we heard from the Minister, as a country we have apologised and worked to compensate our LGBT+ veterans, who have been treated abominably in the service of our country. The fact we can celebrate those individuals in history properly, rather than seeing what they saw—the shameful treatment that they received—and the fact that Alan Turing has been rightly celebrated show just how much we have moved on. Like, I am sure, many other Members who are present today, I have met constituents who have been affected by that ban, and we welcome both the memorial and the redress scheme.

Nowhere have we seen more change in the past 40 years than in the battle on HIV and AIDS. When I was first appointed to my role as shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, one of my first meetings was with representatives of the wonderful Terrence Higgins Trust. Terry Higgins was one of the first people in the UK to die of an AIDS-related illness, and the trust that bears his name was set up with the intention of preventing others from having to suffer in the way in which he had. It focused on raising funds for research and awareness of the illness which at the time was called gay-related immune deficiency, or GRID—the name itself was a marker of prejudice at the time. The trust was the first charity in the UK to be set up in response to the HIV epidemic, and has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV and AIDS ever since. As we heard from the Minister, this charity is just one of the groups that have driven real, positive change. We are proud and thankful to them all for the work that they have done, then and now.

[Dawn Butler]

I am reminded of my first experience of training with the Terrence Higgins Trust, learning about HIV and how it could be contracted. What stuck in my mind the most was people saying that it could be caught from saliva. I remember those at the trust saying that to catch it someone would need 2 litres of saliva, like a big bottle of fizzy drink; that is one hell of a sloppy kiss. Does the hon. Member agree that education is key, and that the trust does an amazing job?

[Mims Davies]

Absolutely. I thank the hon. Lady, with whom I have the pleasure of co-chairing the all-party parliamentary group on women in Parliament. These stigmas, these mindsets, these myths have divided people and made life more difficult because of a lack of understanding and the promotion of fear, and I am very pleased that we have been able to tackle them through the work of that wonderful charity and many others. It was a pleasure to meet representatives of the Terrence Higgins Trust recently.

The Minister mentioned wider sexual health, and, as a mum of two young daughters, I know of the continuing need to meet the wider sexual health challenges facing our young people. We also need to meet the target of ending new HIV cases by 2030. I was honoured to be asked to speak at the Terrence Higgins Trust event during last year’s Conservative party conference, alongside my right hon. Friends the Members for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins) and for Daventry (Stuart Andrew). We all spoke about the progress being made and the commitment to doing what still needs to be done to deliver the ambition of ending HIV cases by 2030 and tackling the stigma. We in the Opposition will work stridently with the Government to achieve that aim, because this truly is a cross-party, cross-community issue.

The last Conservative Government legalised self-testing kits for HIV in 2014, self-testing was rolled out in England in 2015, and the trial of pre-exposure prophylaxis in England began in 2017. This is National HIV Testing Week, and I am proud to say that, in 2012, it was the Conservatives who funded the first one ever. I have three kits in my office to do exactly what we should all be doing: I shall be handing them out and doing a test myself to show how easy it is.

Any Member who, like me, represents a rural area will know that gaining access to healthcare can involve challenges—for instance, getting the message out about safe sex, access to contraception and regular testing, and the additional logistics involved in being a young person living in a rural area. Those challenges need to be understood. Many of my constituents in East Grinstead, Uckfield and the villages have to travel many miles to Brighton or Crawley to get a test. For my younger constituents, the problems may relate to a lack of transport or connectivity, isolation or loneliness, or simply not having anyone to talk to. I would encourage people to sign up for a test online and have a kit delivered to their door, as that may be easier and more appropriate. I say to my young constituents: “As your MP, I am a champion for you, and I hope that you are feeling supported by me. I am here to listen to you and stand up for your equality.” I am sure that all Members will feel the same.

Over the last few years, both in the civil service when I served as the Minister and in Parliament, I have enjoyed and often learned a lot from working with my friends and colleagues who are LGBT+, and I have been humbled by their bravery. It is often still too hard for people to speak up about the person they are and to be their true, authentic self. I will champion the right of my staff and my friends, as I am sure all of us in this House will, to have the opportunity to be their true, authentic self, because the truest conservative beliefs are those of freedom, equality, liberty and opportunity for all.

In October, at Women and Equalities questions, I asked the Minister for Women and Equalities whether the previous Government’s £20 million commitment to rolling out the successful HIV and hepatitis testing programme will remain. I was pleased when she responded by saying that officials are working up plans. If there is anything further that can be shared with the House today, I would welcome that. I also welcomed the update on the RHSE guidance, which is under review. It is important that parents and loved ones know what is being discussed at school, so that they can discuss and support that at home. Given the discussion this afternoon, that is all the more important.

Public health commissioners are responsible for local sexual health services, including the 2.3% cash increase last year. I hope the Minister will agree that we must ensure we see the delivery of progress and outcomes for those who need that support in our communities, not least because there are worrying statistics from the UK Health Security Agency showing an increase in HIV infections among heterosexual men and that, all too often, there is unsafe sex taking place, which we know puts some people at risk. Having the ability to ask people to test, so that they can have safe sex, is vital—as much as consent.

In the best traditions of this House, one Government builds on the legacy of the previous one. I am very proud of the work we did to ensure that anti-bullying schemes were rolled out for students in 2012, to support LGBT+ students. I welcome what the Minister said—bravery comes in every shape and form, and I thank her for sharing her challenges with us. We are all learning together, and I am delighted to support this debate.

In 2017, the first ever LGBT+ survey of the population was undertaken under the Conservatives. There were many other steps forward, and we must continue in the tradition of challenging and tackling stigma, to reach further important goals. As a responsible Opposition, we must scrutinise and encourage, to make sure we are all moving positively in the right direction.

I look forward to hearing contributions from other Members today, as we continue to stand up for all our constituents, to challenge prejudice, to deliver true equality of opportunity, to celebrate love for all in the memory of and on behalf of those who have led the way, and to continue to deliver for all our constituents whose happiness, success and rights matter to us all.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee.

11:44

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

It is always an honour to take part in this annual debate commemorating, celebrating and protesting for LGBT+ History Month. I will start by saying that I am incredibly disappointed that there are not more Members of the House present to hear what I know will be a really informative, heartfelt, genuine debate.

The theme for LGBT+ History Month this year is activism and social change, but given what the LGBTQIA+ community is facing at the moment in the media and in political rhetoric, perhaps a more appropriate theme would be survival and existence. We see powerful people—rich people—at home and abroad punching down, referring to the LGBT community as woke, snowflake, weak and fragile. Any of us know that the LGBTQIA+ community is far from all those things, because fighting for who you are and to love who you want to love in the face of hatred, humiliation and persecution is one of the bravest things any of us could ever do. The trans community have to live every day in a body that does not reflect who they truly are—that is courage, and all against a backdrop of conversations about them, without them, particularly for trans men.

Some of the strongest, least snowflake people I could ever have in my life are from the LGBT community. I am so proud to call them my friends. They are basically my extended family; they are the family I chose. They fight to be who they are, and they fight to exist now. I am going to give some personal examples from when I was perhaps at my weakest. As a straight woman, I relied on that community and my friends to hold me up, because they had the strength when I did not.

When I was in my 20s, I used to go out out—as Miley Cyrus says, I used to be young. On one night, I was out out with one of my gay best friends and my non-binary friend. We had gone to a gay club because, unsurprisingly, and for a reason that I cannot possibly put my finger on, I felt safer and able to have more fun in gay nightclubs than I did in straight clubs as a 20-year-old single woman of that time. I cannot think why that might be. We were on our way home, and we wanted chips and a kebab—standard, right? In the queue was a group of lads. They start giving me abuse, with sexual connotations, and me being myself, I did not shut up; I did not take that lying down. I gave as good as I was getting.

They went ahead, and all of a sudden, when we came out with our chips and kebabs, I could feel things hitting my head. They were throwing chips at us. Those chips suddenly became punches to my face, and they pushed me to the ground. Who stood up and fought for me? My gay best friends and my non-binary friend took on five blokes for me—I did not stop fighting either, but they were there when I needed them.

I have worked across different communities on various campaigns, particularly human rights campaigns, and when I have lost those campaigns, my dearest friend Paul has been there to pick me up when I was crying and broken and thought I could not carry on. He showed me the importance of that, because of his experiences of fighting for equality throughout the ’80s and the ’90s and, unfortunately, in 2025.

My dearest friend Helgi was one of the first out LGBT council members of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. I have spoken quite often in this place about the multiple miscarriages I have experienced. I could not have found myself at a darker time than I did then. He was there in the surgery to hold my hand and help me through one of the most difficult procedures, to remove two of the babies that did not make it out. He was my friend and was there when I woke up.

That is the strength of the community. That is the strength of allyship. Right now, they are the ones being attacked. They are the ones feeling isolated. They are the ones feeling without hope. So I make a plea to every ally and to everybody to use their voice to stand up for the many who have used their voices to stand up for our rights, our dignity and our future.

We had an election last year, and I am so proud that my first official engagement was Pride in Luton. Every year it gets bigger and better, and there are more supporters, more attendees and more fun. I took my family with me, and my then four-year-old asked me, “What’s Pride, mummy?” I said, “Pride is a celebration, but it’s also a protest. She said, “Okay.” I said, “Pride is a protest and a celebration of people loving who they want to love and being who they are.” Her reaction was, “Okay,” and she shrugged. We had the best time ever, and I hope that Pride long continues.

But we did not get here without a fight. Over a decade ago, the previous Labour Government introduced some fantastic measures: they removed the terrible section 28 from the statute book; passed a law allowing trans people to legally change their gender; and introduced the Equality Act to protect LGBT+ people from discrimination. Labour also lifted the ban on lesbians, gay men and bi people serving in the armed forces; introduced civil partnerships, which—I give credit to the previous Conservative Government—paved the way for same-sex marriage; and brought in laws to allow unmarried couples, including same-sex couples, to apply for joint adoption. I am pleased that we have that legacy and foundation to build on, but build on it we must.

The plan proposed in the Labour manifesto was to deliver a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices. I am pleased that the Minister confirmed at the Women and Equalities Committee yesterday that the ban will be trans inclusive. She gave her commitment on that.

We need to ensure that LGBT+ hate crime constitutes an aggravated offence in the same way as other hate crime offences. We need to bring forward a new HIV action plan, and I am glad that many hon. Members have spoken about that already. We need to right the wrongs endured by LGBT+ veterans, which I know this Government are taking aim at; modernise the law on gender recognition; fix the NHS; and recruit 8,500 more mental health workers. All those are brave and laudable aims, but one thing that has been missing is a timeframe—a schedule for when all these fantastic plans will be put into place. When will the LGBTQI+ community be able to feel the benefits of these laudable and beneficial aims? We have seen many members of that community feeling scared. It is not just about looking across the pond and seeing that their existence has been completely wiped out by President Trump and the richest man in the world; there is also a feeling that there is a rowing back in the UK. I want us to address some of the issues, and I hope the Minister will be able to explain, perhaps in writing, where we are on some of these points.

The indefinite ban on puberty blockers for young trans people has been mentioned. The Women and Equalities Committee held an inquiry, and I am proud to say that although there were diverse opinions among Committee members—I am pleased to see some of them here—and the witnesses themselves, the debate was conducted with dignity and respect, with evidence and with a willingness to try to understand, which has all too long been missing. I cannot yet say what recommendations will come out, because I will get into trouble, but we need to be part of a solution. It is not just about pointing out what the problems are.

Although the Minister said that the use of puberty blockers poses unclear risks of harm, we need to look at the unclear risks of harm from not being able to provide healthcare for trans people when they need it. What can be done to mitigate some of those harms? We have talked about vitamin D, calcium, healthy diets and all the things that would address some of the concerns about puberty blockers. Why is it that the ban is explicitly only for their use in treating people with gender dysphoria? Why is it safe for people with endometriosis, prostate cancer or precocious prepubescence to take puberty blockers, but not for those experiencing gender dysphoria? The Women and Equalities Committee heard evidence from endocrinologists with brains the size of small planets, which was incredibly informative. There is much work to be done, but we need to ensure that it is done fairly, inclusively and with the community, not against it.

There is also a plan to reform the Gender Recognition Act, to make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender. I know that the Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) called the process “intrusive, outdated and humiliating” in 2022. That is just as true today as it was then, and I would welcome an update from the Minister on when the GRA will be reviewed.

While we all debate this issue, LGBTQ+ people are being isolated further. They are being targeted and talked about, which is coming through clear in the statistics. The number of hate crimes against LGBT+ people increased from 4,345 in 2011-12 to 22,339 in 2023-24. That increase is huge, and it affects real people’s lives. There is also a huge amount of under-reporting, because we know that only one in eight victims report homophobic or transphobic hate crimes to the police. We need to build up society’s trust in the Government to protect the most vulnerable from such crimes. We have a lot of work to do.

Banning conversion therapy has received cross-party support, and I look forward to finding out when we will see a timeline for the ban to come into force. As we heard in the Women and Equalities Committee yesterday, we need to commit to making it trans inclusive, and I would be grateful if that commitment could be reiterated from the Dispatch Box today. When will Ministers commit to a timeline for bringing forward the plan to make anti-LGBT hate crime an aggravated offence?

We have spoken about the new HIV action plan and building on the work of the previous Government, and I am really pleased that we have that. It was wonderful to see the Prime Minister casually taking an HIV test, which is not something that we would have seen in the past. The Minister and the shadow Minister spoke eloquently about the stigma around HIV, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince). Tackling that stigma is so important, but it is really difficult to break it down when those in power continue to punch down. We have seen that with President Trump’s devastating cuts to USAID, which have left millions across the world without access to lifesaving antiretrovirals. What will the UK do to fill the gap? As we have seen in the US, progress is never inevitable.

I hope this Government can address the concerns of the LGBTQI community, and of those who want to live in a society free from persecution and barriers to healthcare services and safety. We must stay united in the fight, because an attack on one of us is an attack on all, and hatred never stays in one lane for long.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

14:08

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

It is a pleasure and an honour to follow the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen). I concur with everything she said about the work being done by the Women and Equalities Committee.

It is important to recognise where we stand in history, because when we talk about LGBTQ rights, women’s rights or racial equality in this place, we often talk about the journey that we have been on and what we have achieved. Yes, we have achieved a lot, but we face enormous challenges at this moment in our history. Our country’s LGBTQ community need to look at us today and know that we will stand up for them and that we will fight for their rights, including their right simply to be who they are.

But we have faced challenges before, and we have overcome them. I think of Scotland, particularly my home city of Glasgow, where I was brought up. In the 1970s, and when I was a student in the 1980s, it had unfortunately garnered for itself the unenviable reputation of being one of the worst places in Europe to grow up gay. Attitudes were somehow more polarised in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK. In 1957, a poll showed that more than 80% of Scots did not want homosexuality to be decriminalised; the figure was 51% in England.

In preparing for this debate, I found an article in a 1982 student newspaper from the University of Liverpool, whose student union disaffiliated with the University of Glasgow because it refused to allow a gay society to form. According to the union president, that refusal was on the ground that the age of consent for homosexual sex was 21 and, given that most students were younger than 21, the union did not want to

“give the impression that the Union in some way bestows an unofficial blessing on their activities… many members of the Gay Society are not interested in a constructive approach to changing the membership’s attitude…but using this as a ploy to gain momentum to destroy the character of the Union as we know it.”

We hear an echo of that language today, but imagine how young LGBT people must have felt hearing and reading it. That was the kind of attitude they faced on a daily basis.

And imagine if we had been able to tell them that, 40 years later, Glasgow would be in the top five places in Europe for LGBT people to visit and enjoy and that, despite those attitudes, a long, rich history has developed of the community across Scotland coming together to support each other. We have improved so much, as those figures show.

Edinburgh Befrienders, later known as the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, opened in 1974 and was the UK’s first bespoke helpline for gay and lesbian people—beating Switchboard, which still exists, by just one day. Edinburgh was also home to Scotland’s first LGBT bookshop, Lavender Menace, and in 1995 welcomed 3,000 people to Scotland’s first Pride march. It is now huge, the event of the year, and I have been privileged to speak at it twice.

Of course, much of this change has been possible only because of public figures, including: former MPs such as Robin Cook, who equalised Scots law and English law on homosexuality; Val McDermid, whose 1987 novel “Report for Murder” featured Lindsay Gordon, Britain’s first fictional lesbian detective; and award-winning author Jackie Kay, the second woman and first lesbian to hold the post of Makar, Scotland’s national poet, and whose work has dealt with race, gender, transgender identities and her own sexuality. Thanks to such people and places, so many attitudes, laws and the understanding of LGBT+ people have changed for the better.

The age of consent was finally equalised for gay and straight people in England, Scotland and Wales in 2000. Same-sex couples were recognised for the first time in 2004 with civil partnerships. In the same year, trans people gained formal recognition in law for the first time with the Gender Recognition Act. And 20 years ago, same-sex couples gained the right to adopt. My party, its politicians and activists played a key role in that fight. As for me, the fight for LGBT+ rights is not just another political issue but, like the fight for all human rights, is part of who I am, what I believe and what my party stands for.

As has already been mentioned, it was thanks to the allyship and hard work of my noble Friend Baroness Featherstone that, in 2013, hundreds of thousands of campaigners and activists across the country finally had their voices heard with the achievement of marriage equality for same-sex couples. However, I sometimes think that focusing on the successes of the LGBT rights movement in the UK leads us to think that everything has been easy, that progress came without any great effort, and that it was quick and natural. We forget the negatives. We forget the fights we had to go through, and our country’s moments of shame. Shame is the only word for the treatment of gay men like Alan Turing, who was imprisoned, chemically castrated and shamed for his sexuality. Shame is the only word for the fact that, before 2000, anyone could be dismissed from the armed forces simply for being gay. Shame is the only word for the public distrust—indeed, hatred—that many gay men faced during the AIDS crisis. I grew up during that crisis, and the fear and stigma was sometimes palpable and, despite the public solidarity and support from many lesbian groups, it continued. And, of course, shame is the only word to describe the lasting impact of section 28 on a whole generation of young LGBT people who were not allowed to see themselves represented in schools or have appropriate protection from homophobic bullying.

We may think that these negatives are all in the past, but in recent years we have seen horrible debates on LGBT rights, particularly trans rights, and they have become increasingly toxic. Many trans people see their identities denigrated, their experiences ignored and their lives sidelined in debates about their own rights and their own lives. Too many people forget that at the centre of these culture wars are real people who simply want to live their life and be left alone to be who they are. It is time that we moved the debate forward. It is time that we thought about the people and not the politics, by focusing on the solutions to the issues that the LGBTQ community still faces. We must tackle the growth in hate crime, the misogyny and objectification faced by lesbians, and the intersectional issues faced by black and minority ethnic or disabled LGBTQ people. I am delighted that we will hear about the Government’s draft conversion practices ban Bill soon.

How can we support schools and businesses in eradicating homophobic and transphobic bullying and harassment? We have to think about how we can support trans people in accessing better support, and how we can help non- binary people to gain recognition in law. I hope that the Government will address all these points, and today I am more confident that they will.

The hon. Member for Luton North mentioned her daughter as hope for the future. My daughter is considerably older—in her 20s. A couple of years ago, we went to Edinburgh to see a play, “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”, about a young cross-dressing guy who wants to wear a dress to the prom, which causes all sorts of hassle. We went because I had seen the film and loved it. About halfway through the play, I began to find the audience more interesting. I realised that everybody under the age of about 35 or 40 was totally engaged in what was happening, cheering for Jamie and booing his opponents. It was great. Everybody over the age of about 60 looked stunned. They were looking round, thinking, “What’s going on?”. My daughter Mhairi and I came out and, as we walked along the road, I said, “Your generation really don’t care, do they?” . She said, “No, we don’t get it. We don’t know why it’s a problem, and we don’t know why politicians don’t see that.” I thought to myself, “This toxic argument, which we all want to end, will end, because the younger generation will not allow their peers to be punished for being who they are in the way that mine were.”

I thank the Government for having this debate, and I thank everyone who is here. Please let us send the positive message that we will stand up and make sure that acceptance comes sooner.

14:19

[Kate Osborne (Jarrow and Gateshead East) (Lab)]

It is an honour to speak in the main Chamber in this Parliament, which, as Mr Speaker told us the other night at his reception, is the gayest Parliament in the world. LGBT History Month has never been more needed, as politicians of all political stripes, here in the UK, in Europe and, of course, in America, try to tear down the few protections that LBGTQ+ people have, attack our rights and rewrite history.

Our history and our activism need to be shouted about. We will not be silenced. We will not be erased. We will not be pushed back into the closet, and our history will be celebrated and remembered. We need people to continue to be brave enough to shout, “I am here.” I am a lesbian, and I am saying that in the mother of all Parliaments—and I will not stop shouting about it. Our diversity is what makes us wonderful; it gives us strength. “Dyke” is no longer an insult, but a badge that I wear with pride, just like my “she/her” pronoun badge.

It has been 40 years since I came out. At the time, I would never have imagined that I would be an out lesbian Member of Parliament 40 years on. In those years, we have seen huge improvements, but we also still have a really long way to go. I would not have imagined that I would still be having the same slurs chucked at me now as I did then, in arguments that try to make out that LGBTQ+ people are a threat to kids. That is why LGBT History Month is so important, why our activism is so important, and why I always say that I am an activist first and a politician second.

We must celebrate our history and remind people that we have always been here, and that trans people have always existed. We also have to remember the lessons of our activism. We have to remember and listen to those who lived those fights, and we have to learn from them in order to defend ourselves and our community from the latest wave of attacks. Over the last few years, I have repeatedly heard, “Why do we need LGBT History Month?”, “Surely Pride is not needed any more,” and “Hasn’t equality gone too far?”, but people are starting to understand why we still need those events. The fight to protect our rights never ends. Even this week, there are far too many people still making those types of comments, and too many people are woefully uneducated about LGBT history.

On 28 June 1970, on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the first Pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Pride will always be a protest. Pride events are where our community, in all our diversity, make ourselves visible and stand up for our rights, our identities and our very existence. It is where we use our voices, and where allies show up in solidarity. Pride events are needed for LGBTQ+ visibility and solidarity, to celebrate the milestones achieved in the fight for equality and to remind us of the struggles that remain.

Last year, the town I live in, Hebburn, held its first ever local Pride, thanks to Peter Darrant from Out North East, who also runs the wonderful Pride Radio, which broadcasts nationally from my constituency of Jarrow and Gateshead East, and local business leaders such as Wendy Stead and many others. They faced a barrage of abuse. They had the flags ripped down, and the local paper removed the article about the event because of the thousands of abusive comments, and both Peter and I received horrific homophobic and lesbophobic abuse, online and in real life. I am proud to say that Peter, Wendy and the team are ensuring that the local Pride goes ahead again this year, and I will be there, but we need to see more solidarity from people in the face of such hatred, and we need to ensure that there are Pride events in every town and city.

We must tackle the rise in LGBTQ+ hate crime and, in particular, the huge explosion in transphobic hate crime over the last few years. Those attacks reflect an increasingly hostile environment, exacerbated by negative media and political rhetoric, not just in the US, but in Europe and here in the UK. Just last week, a GB News host linked LGBTQ+ people to paedophilia. The Leader of the Opposition has referred to trans people as an epidemic, and as I have reminded her, the definition of that is a

“widespread occurrence of an infectious disease”.

It is no wonder, with language like that, that under the last Conservative Government, the number of hate crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation increased from around 4,000 in 2011-12 to nearly 23,000 in 2023-24. That is a disgrace, and I am pleased that our Government have promised to tackle LGBTQ+ hate crime by ensuring that it constitutes an aggravated offence.

I must echo the words of the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen): it is so disappointing to see not one Conservative MP on the Back Benches. Previous Labour Governments ensured that equality was at their heart, and I am so pleased that our first ever out lesbian Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Dame Angela Eagle), continues that work as a Minister in this Government. I also pay tribute to the Minister for Equalities, who is leading today’s debate, for making sure that we had this debate in Government time, and for everything that she is doing to deliver a fully inclusive ban on so-called conversion practices. I am proud that our Government have been clear that such conversion practices are abuse. They are acts that aim to change people’s—mostly LGBT+ people’s—sexual orientation or gender identity, and we will ban them.

I am proud that it was Labour that lifted the ban on lesbians, gay men and bi people serving in the armed forces, and introduced civil partnerships and laws to allow unmarried couples, including same-sex couples, to apply for joint adoption. I am proud that we are bringing forward a new HIV action plan. I was pleased to speak at an event jointly sponsored by the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Parliament earlier this week. I am also proud that, despite media reports to the contrary, we will bring forward action on our manifesto commitment to modernise, simplify and reform the intrusive and outdated Gender Recognition Act 2004 and remove indignities for trans people, as well as ensuring that all discrimination and financial barriers are removed when it comes to same-sex in-vitro fertilisation.

However, I once again add a note of caution about our Government’s policy and rhetoric on puberty blockers. I believe that their decision is putting people’s health at risk. I am a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which has released a report that notes that the total withdrawal of access to puberty blockers outside a research trial in the UK may breach

“the fundamental ethical principles governing research”.

I urge Ministers to consider the report in detail.

I thank Sue Sanders, the founder of LGBT History Month. We must remember our history, but also acknowledge those who continue to fight, such as Lord Cashman and Baroness Barker, Linda Riley from DIVA, Simon Blake from Stonewall, Shiv, who is organising the London Dyke March, Marty Davies, who does so much to ensure that trans history is recognised, and those who make things happen behind the scenes, such as Marshajane Thompson, who has done so much work in this space for decades. You are pushing for our history to be remembered, and for our rights to be defended, and it is you who will be remembered in future history books.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I want to thank you for being such a great ally, for co-hosting the first all-trans panel with me in the previous Parliament, which gave trans people a voice, and for also co-hosting events with me during lesbian visibility week. Our collective efforts can, do, and will continue to make a difference. By standing together, advocating for change and supporting organisations that champion LGBTQ+ rights, we can create a more inclusive and just world for all.

14:30

[Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to speak in this debate—although in writing my speech ahead of today, I could not help but feel old. We are here to debate LGBT+ History Month, and, as a woman of a certain age, I have had the stark and daunting realisation that I am so old that I am part of history.

We are all aware of the stories of now famous LGBT+ people who were remarkable in their own field, but who lived too early to enjoy the progress that we have now achieved. Alan Turing, who was mentioned earlier, springs to mind. In many senses his story is now legend. The understanding of the role that he played in protecting this country is universal. That he happened to be gay should not have mattered. Despite his service, he was chemically castrated and suffered for the rest of his life. It was absolutely correct that the last Labour Government apologised, and that Turing was pardoned in August 2014.

LGBT+ History Month is often marked and reflected through stories, and today I want to share just some of my story. I grew up in a mining town in the ’80s. The difference in the rights that I have now compared with then is striking. As a lesbian woman, I have spent my adult life fighting for LGBT+ rights. It was when fighting for those rights that I first visited this place. After many years of debate and setbacks, in June 1998, this House voted to equalise the age of consent between heterosexual and gay men. As an active member of the Unison City of Edinburgh lesbian and gay self-organised group, we had been campaigning for many years to end this discrimination. The Unison archive reminded me that our branch wrote letters to all Scottish MPs and MPs who had a link with our union—it was 320 in total. On the day of the vote, two of us came to this place to lobby MPs in person to vote for this historic change.

The next big fight for our rights in which I was actively involved was the repeal of section 28, or section 2A in Scotland. As someone who worked in local government and who had a same sex partner with children, I saw the damage that section 2A did every single day. The Act meant that teachers and youth workers could not provide support to children of same sex partners, or LGBT+ young people. It resulted in many public sector workers, particularly those in educational settings, feeling that they could not come out in their own workplace. Essentially, the law said that households, such as the one in which I was living, were just wrong.

When the Scottish Executive announced that they would repeal section 2A, there was a considerable and, at times, vile campaign against its removal, much of it financed by Brian Souter. Souter wanted to bankroll a private referendum and campaign for people to vote no. There were billboards across Scotland opposing the repeal. One billboard was on Ferry Road, one of the main bus routes through my home in the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency. I will never forget having to take David and Zoe to school on a bus and passing a sign that said that our family was not a real family. I cannot put into words the anger that I felt because of the worry that it created for me, the kids and their mum. Thankfully the people of Scotland rejected the buying of democracy by Brian Souter and the referendum never happened.

A few years ago the Scottish Trades Union Congress commissioned a book celebrating 125 years of trade union successes in Scotland, and, as a contributor, I wrote about this struggle. In the book I said:

“An overarching worry for the general public was that Souter was trying to bankroll this referendum and campaign. People did not want private, rich people to be able to buy democracy.”

I know that my constituents still hold this view.

The following decade and a half brought significant improvements to the rights of LGBT+ people in Scotland and across the UK. I look forward to reflecting on one of those rights in a few weeks’ time when I celebrate my first wedding anniversary with my wife.

In closing, the struggle for LGBT rights has been fought in workplaces, in our communities, in our families and across this House for decades. We have had many successes but, sadly, some people still live in fear of their lives because they love someone of the same sex.

In this place, we must continue to fight to ensure that everyone is able to love who they wish regardless of where they are born. My hope is that, very soon, people across the world will have the freedoms that I enjoy here in the UK today.

14:35

[David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) must have been thinking the same way as me when she wrote her speech, because, for me, LGBT History Month is always a time to reflect on the past and, at 47, I have a fair bit of past on which I can reflect.

Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, I was all too aware of the challenges of HIV and AIDS. Many will remember that terrifying TV advert, the public health campaign, that was regularly played out on television. The reality was that it was a terrifying time, as there was no cure and no real treatment. AIDS was a death sentence. This in itself led to a stigmatised perception of the gay community in particular, because, as we all know, they were disproportionately affected by the disease.

Dr Nick Phillips, my lecturer at performing arts school, was the first person I met who had AIDS, and this was in 1996. Nick had been well known in the ’70s and ’80s for his performances with the famous Bloolips cabaret troupe, and he had performed extensively both here in the UK and in the US. It was his stint in the US that tragically saw him become one of the first people to catch HIV, as, unfortunately, did many of his friends. About eight years ago, I saw Nick do a touching solo performance, in which he portrayed the heartbreak of this period for him, losing so many friends while dealing with his own potential mortality.

Despite there being no treatment, Nick miraculously survived when many did not, and he is still around today to tell the tale. When I first met Nick and became a close friend of his, I had to overcome my own prejudice—touching him, hugging him, or giving him a peck on the cheek. I was one of many in the 1990s who were still absolutely petrified of this uncurable illness. But Nick helped me see that it did not have to be a death sentence. It also meant that I could not catch it by just giving him a hug.

I remember Nick getting really ill in 1997 and ending up in hospital. He was one of the first to receive the experimental treatment of combination therapy, and it worked. Nick went on to compose the touching “Red Ribbon Requiem”, which was performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Today, he has demonstrated just how far treatment has come, living a normal, healthy life and having naturally fathered two lovely twin boys.

Fast forward to 2020 and a really close friend of mine sat me down to tell me that he had HIV. My immediate reaction was despair. I thought that I was going to lose him, that he had that death sentence. But he laughed at me and said, “Don’t worry, my levels are already now undetectable.” This was because of the wonderful medication that he was taking. As long as he keeps taking it, he will go on to live a normal life.

Today, more than 30 HIV medications are available. Many people are able to control their HIV with just a single pill a day. Early treatment can prevent HIV-positive people from getting AIDS, and the diseases that it causes, such as cancer. HIV drugs also stop people who have the virus passing it on during sex. We still do not have a cure for AIDS, but with the right treatment, people who are HIV-positive can have a normal lifespan, but we must remember that HIV and AIDS does not just affect the LGBTQ+ community. It does not discriminate, like those who have been victims of the virus have been discriminated against in the past.

While most people have caught the disease from unprotected sex, regardless of their sexuality, others have contracted it from infected blood, from their parents during pregnancy, from sharing needles or from being horribly raped. I fully support the Labour Government’s new HIV action plan to end all new HIV cases in England by 2030. I am pleased that there is a cross-party consensus on that. The powerful image just this week of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom publicly taking an HIV test on camera was wonderful. I took my test too, and I encourage everybody to do the same.

As we look to the future, with this Labour Government introducing greater protections for the LGBTQ+ community, such as the trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices and righting the wrongs done to LGBT veterans, we would think that we would have reason to celebrate, but as others have said, we must be aware that, among some, the narrative is shifting. We have seen our trans community under attack, being made to feel non-existent. Around the world, we have seen those in power in countries that we normally consider progressive rowing back on LGBTQ+ rights.

We sadly even hear such rhetoric coming out of this place. This week, the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe)—I have given him notice—stated that he would sack every DEI officer in the NHS. Just this weekend, he told them on social media how much he detests their work. Let us look at this. D stands for diversity: diverse people, and people from a diverse background. E stands for equality: helping those diverse people to gain equality and feel equal. I stands for inclusion: making them feel they are included in society. How dare somebody say that they want to ban that.

We need to call these people out—those who are looking to push us back and take away our rights, making diversity irrelevant as opposed to embracing it. We are a diverse country and should embrace everybody, whoever they are. We have made huge strides forward, so please, let us not go back. I pay tribute to all the pride organisations across the country, many of which are run by volunteers, for their wonderful work in raising awareness, and creating visibility and safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. I particularly call attention to Basildon Pride, where I am still the chair of trustees, and the wonderful Southend Pride, which offers so much to the community. Long may it continue to do so.

14:12

[Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)]

I pay tribute to the Minister, who bravely spoke about the realities of teaching under section 28 and how she did her best to protect LGBT children in her class. I am so glad that she is now able to do so in Government. I also pay tribute to the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), who has always been a staunch and fearless ally, and speaks about these issues with warmth, compassion, humanity and empathy.

Today, we have seen some of the best of all parties represented in the Chamber. The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies), has always been a voice on these issues within the Conservative party. The Liberal Democrat spokes- person, the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine), has long been ahead of many in this House when it comes to equalities issues, including being outspoken in support of the rights of sex workers, who must never be excluded from conversations on feminism and LGBTQ equality.

I am thrilled that we have the opportunity to discuss LGBT History Month in the Chamber for many reasons, not least because it gives me the opportunity to put on record just how gay Nottingham is and has long been. I was overjoyed to learn that Mansfield Road, where my constituency office is based, was home to queer-friendly cafés in the 1960s, and that just down the road in St Ann’s there was a flourishing lesbian pub scene. Nottingham also had a trans meet-up group all the way back in the 1970s—again, disproving the lie that trans people have only existed more recently—and people in our city were active in the section 28 protests, in fighting the AIDS crisis, and in running life-saving phone support lines. I was privileged to meet some of them at Silver Pride, a social group for older gay and bi men in Nottingham.

It is thanks to CJ DeBarra that much of that history and more is being uncovered. They have interviewed more than 150 members of our community, and delved deep into archives around the country to ensure that the history of Nottingham’s LGBTQ+ community is preserved, highlighted and celebrated. I also pay tribute to many of the groups that support and advocate for LGBTQ+ people in Nottingham today: Notts LGBT+ network, Notts Pride, the Pastel Project, Nottingham Against Transphobia, Silver Pride, the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health, Notts Trans Hub and more. Those involved are unsung heroes—often volunteers who work tirelessly to improve the lives of people in our community. They deserve huge thanks and recognition.

As well as marking LGBT History Month, this debate coincides with HIV Testing Week. I commend the Prime Minister for being the first to take a public HIV test. At the height of the AIDS crisis, that would have been unthinkable. It demonstrates just how far we have come in this regard. It is thanks to activists who have fought so hard for proper treatment and funding for research, and against ignorance and stigma, that we are where we are today. HIV is no longer a death sentence—far from it—and ending the epidemic is possible. UNAIDS has set a goal of 2030, and it is vital that our Government play their part in helping to achieve that. I welcome our commitments in this area.

Although it is right that progress is celebrated, it cannot come at the expense of recognising where we are continuing to fall short and even going backwards in some areas. Many of the struggles of the past are also struggles of the present. The LGBTQ+ community continues to face huge inequality, with trans people at the sharpest end, including higher levels of homelessness, discrimination at work and school, an increased likelihood of experiencing verbal and physical abuse, and, yes, disproportionate rates of suicide. This is not hyperbole, and recognising that sad reality is not in some way irresponsible. Life for may LGBTQ+ people is still immensely difficult.

We are living in an era of rising hate, both here and around the world, which is putting more people at risk. The state of politics on LGBTQ+ issues is appalling. Trans people have been made a political football, with their suffering almost considered a price worth paying to score political points. That makes some people feel tempted, I think, just to ignore the reality that trans people face, or to try to find some kind of so-called middle ground, but when the conversation has been dragged so far to the extreme right by anti-trans activists, the middle ground is far from moderate. History shows us that the answer is not to cede ground to the right’s framing; it is to fight back. Generations of queer activists held fast in demanding their rights, and they won them eventually.

I want to make clear, as a feminist and as a woman who is not trans, that I am proud to stand with my trans siblings. Those who claim that standing up for my rights as a woman requires rolling back the rights of trans people do not speak for me. When people with very loud voices and newspaper columns tell us that there is a conflict between trans rights and women’s rights, and that they are standing up for women, they are just not being honest. From the abuse towards women of colour competing in sport to cisgender lesbians being harassed in bathrooms, attacks on trans people endanger all women who do not fit within anti-trans activists’ ever-narrowing heteronormative and Eurocentric parameters of womanhood. Far from advocating for women’s rights, they are putting them under threat. Whether or not they realise it, they are helping to usher in the far right, who want to restrict women’s freedom and reinforce traditional gender roles.

We see time and again, for example, campaigns against trans rights and abortion rights working hand in hand, because they are part and parcel of a politics being dragged ever rightwards. Entire Conservative leadership contests have been fought on the basis of who can talk the toughest when it comes to an extremely marginalised group. The Conservative party has gone from supporting gender recognition reform under the May Government and promising to outlaw conversion therapy, to outright opposing the first and coming up with excuses to allow the second to continue.

I am extremely sad to say that my party, too, has been dragged in the wrong direction. Our policy on trans issues is worse now than it was in previous years. That is the wrong approach. Our party must completely reject the tired narrative that trans people are a threat, which underpins so much of this moral panic. It was not true about gay men in the ’80s and it is not true about the trans community now. Our approach must centre on trans people themselves and their humanity. We must stand against bigotry and for human rights, and deliver material change, such as a trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban; the reform that we have promised in the gender recognition process; proper access to gender-affirming healthcare to trans people of all ages, including by ensuring that everybody who needs puberty blockers has access to them; the creation of inclusive schools; and the expansion of affordable housing.

LGBT history is not just in the past; it is being made every day. Labour is now in government, and we must decide what role we want to play. Thanks to years of campaigning by LGBTQ+ people, previous Labour Governments took important strides in equalising the age of consent, repealing section 28, and legislating for civil partnerships, adoption rights and gender recognition. The future of the next generation of LGBTQ+ people will be shaped, in part at least, by our party. That generation will judge us on our record. We still have time to make it one to be proud of.

I want to speak directly to them—to LGBTQ+ youth. I know that for so many of you, life is really hard and your future feels uncertain. There is no doubt that this chapter of history, and the direction in which the world is moving, often feels dark, but you are not alone. There are so many people who love and not just accept you but celebrate you for who you are, both within our LGBTQ+ community and outside it. Our history is one of struggle, but not every chapter has been bleak. We have faced down bigotry and won rights. Throughout it all, queer joy has always co-existed. A better world is possible, and I hope that one day the need for struggle and the feelings of darkness will have gone and that our joy is all that remains. Until then, we will keep fighting.

14:55

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this important debate marking LGBT+ History Month. It is an honour to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome).

One of my predecessors as MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Paul Latham, who was the MP from 1931 to 1941, was imprisoned for two years after being arrested for “improper behaviour” while serving in the Royal Artillery during the second world war. His story is a case study of how so often LGBT+ people have been hidden from history as they faced prejudice, persecution and, in the case of men who were gay, prosecution. Paul Latham’s arrest drove him to try to end his life, which resulted only in a charge of attempted suicide being added to that of indecent conduct—a very sad story, but hardly exceptional.

The post-war period saw a sharp rise in the number of prosecutions in Britain for homosexual acts, with the fine for a first offence being the equivalent of £700 today and second offences punishable by a sentence of one to five years on average. Thankfully, in 1967, the then Labour Home Secretary Roy Jenkins provided parliamentary time for Leo Abse’s ten-minute rule Bill to decriminalise homosexuality through the Sexual Offences Act 1967. Of course, there was still a long way to go to full equality.

Even as fairly recently as 1980, Scarborough town council refused permission for the Campaign for Homosexual Equality to hold a conference in the town—something that damaged not only Scarborough’s reputation at the time, but its tourist trade. The success of today’s Scarborough Pride is therefore all the more welcome and is cause for celebration. Of course, there are other Pride events in nearby York and Leeds, but it is important for the community in Scarborough to be visible, which it is at Pride, with over 3,000 people taking part since it restarted in 2023.

I have taken part in both joyous parades, joining the Scarborough and Whitby Labour party carrying its splendid LGBTQ+ banner, along with my dog Tarka, resplendent in her rainbow neckerchief. The parade winds its way cheerfully through the town centre and along Foreshore Road towards Scarborough Spa where the festivities continue with fabulous performances, stalls and delicious food—of course, Tarka particularly appreciates the latter. Local businesses along the route decorate their shops and windows, putting pride flags out to show their support, with the whole town getting into the spirit of the event. It is a fun day, but it also helps combat the feelings of isolation that LGBT+ residents feel, and it has an educational value, breaking down barriers through family-friendly entertainment, so that future generations of the community will not have to experience the prejudice that older members have. McCain Foods, a major local employer, has gone above and beyond to support the event, but—as is the case for so many other charities—funding has been a struggle for the organisers, who all give their time for free. I pay tribute to those wonderful volunteers. I know that Scarborough Pride would welcome offers of support for this year’s Pride, which takes place on 13 September, celebrating inclusivity, diversity and love on the Yorkshire coast. Of course, further up the coast in Whitby, we enjoy a massive outpouring of love and acceptance twice a year as hordes of splendidly costumed goths visit the town in April and October.

However, as we have heard in the House today and as we know from our own experiences, the LGBT+ community continue to suffer from abuse and discrimination. A brilliant exhibition of photos from last year’s Scarborough Pride is running at Scarborough Art Gallery as part of LGBT+ History Month, but sadly, the comments section of a Yorkshire Post article about that exhibition has had to be switched off because of the vile nature of many of the posts. We have seen so much progress, including legislation to introduce civil partnerships and allow same-sex couples to adopt children, the equalisation of the age of consent and the repeal of section 28, all under the last Labour Government. That was followed by the right of same-sex couples to marry under the coalition Government, and I am so pleased to see this Government taking action to right a historic wrong and compensate LGBT+ veterans who were dismissed from the armed services because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Defence Secretary has called this

“a moral stain on our nation.”—[Official Report, 12 December 2024; Vol. 758, c. 1103.]

An honest look at history means confronting the prejudice and often brutal treatment that LGBT+ people have suffered in the past and continue to experience. It means facing the fact that progress has not been smoothly linear, but a case of stops and starts, in which each step forward has had to be fought for bravely so that people can be who they really are without fear. As the Member of Parliament for Scarborough and Whitby and a proud ally of the LGBT+ community, I am committed to playing my part in the push towards progress—towards a future in which our children can live their lives free from judgment and discrimination, and can be their best, brightest and authentic selves.

15:02

[Olivia Bailey (Reading West and Mid Berkshire) (Lab)]

It is a huge privilege to speak in this afternoon’s debate. There have been so many wonderful contributions, and I thank all colleagues for them.

The question that I think I have been asked the most since I became an MP is, “Why did you want to get into politics? Why did you decide to become an MP?” I am often asked that by groups of A-level students or by kids in schools, and the honest answer is, “Because I know that politics changes lives, because it has changed my life.” I grew up under section 28, feeling like who I was, was something to be ashamed of. When I was 16, people in this place scrapped section 28 so that my school could no longer deny my existence. When I was 17, they passed a law to allow civil partnerships and give me belief that I could have a relationship that was viewed as equal. When I was at university, they passed the Equality Act 2010, which outlawed discrimination against me, and then when I was 26, I embraced my now wife in Parliament Square as equal marriage became law. It is because of all those things that today, my wife and I have two wonderful children and the love and respect of our families, and I am able to stand here today as a proud lesbian MP.

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate for LGBT+ History Month. The debate is an important chance for us to reflect on our history and the brave pioneers who have come before us, and it has been wonderful to hear many of their stories today. However, I want to use my speech to celebrate not those who have achieved prominence, but everyday people who have persisted—who, in living their lives and having the courage to be themselves, are the reason we have made the progress we have. The real challenge for every LGBT+ person is not a battle with their career or their personal ambitions; the real battle each and every one of us faces is a battle with shame. When you are told that you are disgusting or when you are told that there is something wrong with you, it eats at you—it eats at your very sense of self.

Every time in our history that an LGBT person has steeled their nerves and held hands in the street, every time they chose to tell a colleague or friend the pronoun of their partner or chose to express their gender, and every time they chose love over fear, they showed an almighty act of strength. It is the most powerful political act there can be—an individual act of defiance, of courage —and today we stand here because of each and every one of them.

We have achieved so much as a community, but I want to conclude by reflecting on the work still to do, and the importance that this Government place on advancing LGBT+ rights, because our journey is not complete when there is still so much hate towards gay and trans people, while conversion practices still take place and while our gender recognition laws remain out of date. That is why I am so proud that this Government will deliver a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, make LGBT+ hate crime an aggravated offence and modernise the law on gender recognition.

The best way to honour the LGBT+ people who have, throughout history, fought for our rights, often at great personal cost, is to never be complacent, to link arms as a community and to make it our solemn mission to ensure that Pride is not just our protest against the pernicious effects of shame, but something felt freely by every LGBT person finally allowed to just be who they are.

15:06

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to speak, as a lesbian MP and as co-chair of the now very large parliamentary Labour party LGBT+ group, on what is the 20th anniversary of LGBT+ History Month.

LGBT+ History Month was first celebrated in 2005, but I first came to this country well before that—in the early 1990s—and for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, it was a very different place from what it is now. We were a community ravaged by the HIV epidemic that killed so many people and so many young people, but in a cruel twist, LGBT+ people were blamed for the very epidemic that was killing us. This led to section 28 —that pernicious Conservative law that put teachers in fear of being sacked if they even acknowledged our existence, and left many LGBT+ kids alone and often bullied mercilessly at school.

On the streets, LGBT+ people were in fear of their lives. In 1990, in my own constituency of Ealing Southall, Michael Boothe was kicked to death by six men in Elthorne park in Hanwell simply because he was gay. Both the stigma of HIV and the chilling effect of section 28 kept so many people in the closet, living lives they could not be honest about for fear of the consequences. They were unable to be open to their own families, and always fearful of being outed, of being beaten up and of losing their ability to earn a living. In the 1990s, people could be sacked from their job just because of who they loved. As unreal as it now seems, you could even be refused service by a shop, a hotel or a restaurant because you were gay. There was no law against it.

How life has changed since then! The last Labour Government transformed LGBT+ people’s lives. We repealed section 28, we lifted the ban on LGB people in the military and we equalised the age of consent. We outlawed discrimination against LGBT+ people in society and in the workplace. We gave LGBT+ people the right to adopt and to access NHS fertility treatment. We brought in tougher sentences for anti-LGBT+ hate crimes, with the first ever conviction for homophobic murder in the case of Jody Dobrowski on Clapham common. We introduced civil partnerships, giving same-sex partners the same rights as married couples. We changed the law to finally acknowledge trans people’s rights to live their lives, and one of Labour’s final acts in government was the groundbreaking Equality Act 2010.

Labour built a more equal society but since then progress on LGBT+ equality has been painfully slow or has gone backwards in many respects. Anti-LGBT+ hate crime soared to record levels under the last Conservative Government, which comes as no surprise given that they demolished neighbourhood policing in this country. They slashed funding to local councils so that life-saving services for young LGBT+ people—like youth clubs and libraries, and specialist housing and sexual health workers—were cut, and they fanned the flames of a toxic debate about trans people’s right to exist.

It has taken a new Labour Government to pick up where we left off and restart the work that is still needed to ensure equality for LGBT+ people. We are righting the wrongs of the past by paying compensation to those sacked from the armed forces for being LGBT+. We are rolling out opt-out HIV testing, with the Prime Minister himself taking a test on camera this week. And we have opened the first of six new trans healthcare hubs.

It is still too easy for employers to sack an LGBT+ worker but pretend it was nothing to do with discrimination. So Labour’s Employment Rights Bill introduces a new day one protection against any unfair dismissal, which should make it harder for employers to get away with discriminating. Our plan to end zero-hours contracts will help stop young and low paid LGBT+ workers being denied work because of who they are. LGBT+ workers often have to come out to their employer when asking for time off, but the Employment Rights Bill introduces a new day one right to bereavement leave and a default right to flexible working, both of which will make it easier for LGBT+ workers to get what they are entitled to without having to tell their life story to their employer.

The Minister has confirmed she will reform outdated gender recognition laws and will soon be coming forward with inclusive plans to outlaw conversion practices, a promise repeatedly made by the last Conservative Government but which they again and again failed to deliver. Labour will finally stop this licensed abuse of LGBT+ people.

As part of our plan for change we will be modernising healthcare for trans people and we will be putting a specialist mental health professional in every school. We are also rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, bringing back those youth services. This Labour Government will also put neighbourhood police back on our streets and make LGBT+ hate crime an aggravated offence.

LGBT+ History Month is a time to celebrate everything that has been achieved but also to acknowledge the work still to do to win true equality. This new Labour Government will transform LGBT+ people’s lives again, just as we did before, and our plan for change will rebuild the NHS, the police and the education system that we all need, whether we are LGBT+ or not.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call Mims Davies.

15:13

[Mims Davies]

It is a privilege to close the debate for His Majesty’s loyal Opposition. I thank the many Members who have contributed this afternoon, I thank Mr Speaker for his recent reception celebrating LGBT+ History Month, and I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for all you do in this space.

We have had an important and wide-ranging debate, and I apologise because many of my colleagues have been attending the debate in Westminster Hall so there are not as many of us here as before. That is slightly troubling, but I am sure some people are pleased about it.

In last year’s debate I was particularly struck by the words of my former colleague and dear friend, the former Member for Carshalton and Wallington, Elliot Colburn.

He said:

“LGBT+ people have always existed; we did not just pop out of the ground in the 1960s and 1970s and start marching through the streets of London and other cities.”—[Official Report, 7 March 2024; Vol. 746, c. 393WH.]

That has struck me strongly this year. I say to him and Jed that their engagement was the best night ever. The former Member for Sutton and Cheam, Paul Scully and I had a brilliant evening, and we are still waiting for that wedding.

I agree with the Minister that under-40s do not see or feel any difference. That has been roundly celebrated in the Chamber this afternoon. In rejecting and, frankly, moving on from the culture wars, we must all keep compassion, safety, fairness and equality for all at the heart of this debate. If we do that this LGBT+ History Month, we will do the debate justice. It is a pleasure, as I have said, to speak on my party’s behalf.

The hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) spoke about the importance of allies, and that is extremely important. The Minister talked about Fast Track Cymru and welcomed that work. There has been lots of huge and ongoing work that, if we all put every sinew to it, makes such a big difference. The Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) highlighted that it is far from weak for someone to show who they really are and to be visible, and that the friendship that our LGBT+ trans community friends give us is wonderful. They are heroes to us, and the best nights out are with our LGBT+ friends. As a heterosexual woman of a certain age in the gayest Parliament in the world, I think it probably explains my ongoing single status and why I have such a good time.

The hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) spoke about the work of the many individuals who continue to stand up and help those friends, constituents and colleagues to come forward. The difference that allies make will never change. I absolutely agree with the point she made that furthering causes by putting individual safety at risk is extremely unhelpful, and rights are not a zero-sum game. The hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) spoke about the work that she has long done in this area and the importance of recognising that families come in all shapes, sizes and forms. As a single parent for not far off the last decade, I think there is still much stigma around what a family looks and feels like. We all need to keep working to tackle that.

The hon. Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson) spoke about the incredible Nick, and I think we would all love to meet him. The hon. Member reflected on those living with HIV and AIDS losing friends and facing their own mortality, which was extremely powerful, but he also mentioned the power of hugs, and hugs for all do make everybody feel better. The hon. Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) spoke about bravery, and she absolutely is a brave Member. She is always happy to speak on what she truly believes in, and that is all we can ask for in this House. All power to her.

The hon. Member for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey) talked about linking arms, and I love that. That is such a powerful image for us. The hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) spoke about Pride events and the opportunity to feel part of something bigger and to tackle isolation and loneliness. I am proud that our party brought forward the first Minister for loneliness. I, alongside the wonderful former Member of this House, Tracey Crouch, had that role. What a brilliant, amazing, globally recognised role it was. Those Pride marches are a great opportunity to break down isolation and loneliness.

I have a couple of points for the Minister. On the Conservatives’ amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we think it is important, as I highlighted earlier, that parents, loved ones and carers can view what is going on in the classroom in RSHE. The Minister shared her challenges in the classroom. I wonder whether, had she had parental support back then and been able to share those materials, life would have been easier. I reiterate to parents, carers and loved ones that if we want to have true understanding, true discussions and conversations at home matter equally.

I urge the Minister to work with me to help stand up for women on the women’s health strategy. It is right that we are focused on equality and fairness for all. I hope that she, in her position on behalf of all women—whatever their sexual orientation—can be clear that we should have that focus, because women’s health needs are different. We can be fair, promote equality for all, protect our children and focus on liberty, but we must ensure that women’s health is at the heart of that. As I said earlier, some of the strongest and truest Conservative beliefs are freedom and opportunities for liberty and equality. They should always be at the heart of the discussion.

I mentioned some of my party’s milestones. Back in 2013, the Conservatives funded the first ever HIV testing campaign for black, Asian and minority ethnic people, which was extremely important. In 2019, our party elected the most openly LGBT+ MPs of any party—that might have been superseded in these last few months—and this legislature was recognised as having the most LGBT+ Members in the world, which is quite amazing, really.

Under the Conservatives we saw a reduction in HIV diagnoses of 73% by 2021. In the same year, the number of people with HIV living beyond the age of 50 hit an all-time high, and one of the highest figures in the world. In 2021, we introduced the HIV action plan, which needs to be updated by 2030, to end new HIV infections. In 2022, people with HIV but no detectable virus were rightly able to join the military and fully deploy on operations. In 2023, barriers to accessing IVF were removed for lesbian couples, as they were in 2024 for those living with HIV.

I say to young people listening and watching that this debate is an important reminder of why months of celebration like LGBT+ History Month are really important. An awareness of history assists us all in our understanding while all communities in this country and those around the world look to us. I tell young people not to be afraid to be themselves. They should know that they will thrive when they are themselves. I say as their Member of Parliament, or as an ally to them: we are here for you to reach out to and to listen to you.

As we Conservatives believe that love is love, I am proud to stand up for women’s rights and for all equal rights. We can all continue to do that positively in this place and elsewhere in the spirit in which the debate has rightly been held. All our constituents need that.

15:23

[Dame Nia Griffith]

I thank all hon. Members for the constructive debate that we have had. I thank in particular the spokesperson for the Opposition, the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies), for her excellent contributions. She reminded us that the theme for this LGBT+ History Month is activism and social change. She paid tribute to Alan Turing, as other hon. Members did, and reminded us of her party’s achievements in government and the progress made there. She—very helpfully—gave her full commitment to ending the transmission of HIV infections by 2030. We welcome that cross-party support.

The hon. Lady asked about the relationships, sex and health education guidance. The Government are engaging with stakeholders including parents, teachers and pupils to discuss the draft guidance on RSHE and gender questioning in schools and colleges, and drawing from available evidence, including the Cass review, to finalise the guidance. We are taking the time to get this right and considering all available evidence alongside the consultation responses before setting out the next steps. It is absolutely good practice for schools and governing bodies to share their RSHE policies with parents.

[Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)]

I thank the Minister for chairing an excellent roundtable yesterday through the all-party parliamentary human rights group. The key message we heard from human rights campaigners from east Africa and global organisations was that we are experiencing LGBT history right now in the cuts to US Government funding being forced out by insidious transnational anti-rights campaigns. The call for the UK to step in and fill the gap left by the US Government was very clear, and I hope the Minister will be taking that forward.

[Dame Nia Griffith]

Absolutely. We have committed £40 million to those very aims. We will be stepping up to the mark with both our financial commitment and our leadership on the international stage.

We also heard from the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen). I thank her for her excellent work, and particularly for undertaking some very difficult discussions. I will certainly refer the discussions and evidence sessions on puberty blockers that she has enabled to my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary.

Like many other Members, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North also mentioned Labour’s proud achievements. However, I know she also wants to ensure that we keep to our manifesto commitments, and I know she will not allow any backsliding on this. I can give her that assurance—in the same way that my colleague, the Minister for Women and Equalities, did yesterday—that we are absolutely on track to bring forward a draft Bill on conversion practices, delivering a fully trans-inclusive ban that will provide safety for LGBT+ people subject to those practices. That draft Bill will then have the opportunity to go through pre-legislative scrutiny.

The spokesperson for the Lib Dems, the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine), told us about LGBT history in Scotland and the progress from a very hostile environment to a much more accepting environment now. She also reminded us that in this recent toxic debate, especially in respect of trans people, it is very important that we stick together. This is an important fight for us all, and we must take it very seriously. She particularly mentioned helping schools and businesses to tackle bullying, which is a fight we can never, ever stop fighting—no matter how much we do, there is always a danger of backsliding on such things, and we all need to be aware of that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) was quick to remind us how proud she is of her diversity and of the importance of activism in stopping attitudes backsliding. I was sorry to hear of the unfortunate happenings after the Pride march in her home town last year, and I very much hope that this year things will be better. I am glad to hear that people are fighting back and facing down that hostility. She also mentioned tackling the increase in hate crime, especially transphobic hate, and the pride she has in the fact that we are introducing the conversion practices ban and our HIV action plan. She mentioned her work at the Council of Europe. I pay tribute to her huge efforts there and to the work she is now doing on puberty blockers.

My hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) told us of her activism, particularly in Unison, in respect of equalising the age of consent and the impact of section 2A in Scotland, the section 28 equivalent in England and Wales. She mentioned the many successes of her campaigns, but said that people are still living in fear and that there is still much to do, particularly internationally.

My hon. Friend the Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson) gave some very difficult reflections on the early ’80s and the fear and stigma of HIV. He talked about the progress made on a range of treatments, reminded us that HIV is much wider than just the LGBT+ community, and said how much he supports our HIV action plan. Again, he was worried about rowing back on LGBT rights and the attacks on diversity, equality and inclusion. As he says, we should all embrace diversity—he is so right—to make the most of our talents, and to do the most good socially and economically. Of course, we have now named the office in government taking care of these responsibilities as the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) talked about how far we have come, but that there are still huge difficulties, especially for trans people. She talked about homelessness, suicide rates and how trans people have been used as a political football. She very clearly stated that as a woman she sees no conflict between standing up for women’s rights and standing up for trans people. She rightly pointed out that attacks on trans people are from some of the very same sources that very happily attack women’s rights, so we should not think that there is a conflict between standing up for women and standing up for trans people. Again, she made a very strong call for action and said a better world is possible.

My hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) made reference to the very sad story of her predecessor Paul Latham. She mentioned the historic achievements we have made since then, and I also loved her description of her dog in its rainbow outfit.

My hon. Friend the Member for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey) told us about the power of Parliament in increasing LGBT+ rights, but also about the power of ordinary LGBT+ people living out their lives, confronting the shame that very often they had to face down, and standing up and being visible. Again, she said that we should never, ever be complacent.

My hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) contrasted the London she came to many years ago—I will not say how many—with the Labour achievements since, but mentioned the slowdown in progress, and the worry about progress going forward and the need to stand up for LGBT+ people. She mentioned the Employment Rights Bill, which does so much for the rights of all our workers.

I draw the attention of the House not just to the achievements of the past, but to the opportunities of the future. As I said very clearly, we will publish draft legislation outlining a fully trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices. We are committed to changing hate crime legislation to bring parity of protection for LGBT+ people and we are determined to regain our place in the international arena as an example of progress, not decline. As history shows us, progress is not static. New challenges will always emerge and hard-won rights must not only be cherished but guarded. That is why the Government are committed to upholding Britain’s long-standing record of protecting the rights of individuals and ensuring that the Equality Act protects everyone. But there are others who would gladly reverse that, returning us to a time when discrimination was permissible, even empowered, under the law. We must be ever mindful of such intentions and remember from our history why we do not wish to revisit such times. Lawful discrimination, section 28, vilification and rejection by wider society are history, and they must remain such.

Whenever LGBT+ people have faced ingrained hostility or a rising tide of persecution and vilification, we have met it with bravery and resolve. We must remember these lessons, and apply them to the times. Progress is not inevitable—it must be fought for—and that struggle continues, one in which we must all play our part to ensure that we move forward and never back.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered LGBT+ History Month.