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.
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.