LGBT History Month

David Mundell Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Elliot Colburn]

The hon. Member makes an excellent point, and I absolutely agree with him.

[David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)]

I commend my hon. Friend and the hon. Member for Wallasey (Dame Angela Eagle) for the important work that they do in co-chairing the APPG, but does my hon. Friend agree that there is a role for all of us, as parliamentarians, in reaching out and working with people in other countries to help them change the regressive laws that he is describing?

[Elliot Colburn]

I agree entirely, and I commend my right hon. Friend for all the work he has done in paving the way for many of us in this place.

Let me now turn to some of the UK’s more recent history in this regard. As I said earlier, the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in the UK finally occurred in 1967. By the turn of the century, LGBT people could serve in the armed forces and the age of consent had been equalised.