LGBT History Month

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2024 Westminster Hall

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer, and I am grateful to the hon. Members for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) and for Wallasey (Dame Angela Eagle) for their leadership in the debate today. It is a pleasure to speak in the annual LGBT+ History Month debate, and to reflect on the journey that has been made and also on where change still needs to come. I welcome the opportunity to speak about the positive progress that we see in a whole range of areas, but as the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington pointed out, there is no inevitability about progressive change. We can all see this playing out. We can see the statistics showing hate crimes against LGBT+ people rising, and we need to be prepared here to speak out and to speak up for their rights.

It is quite extraordinary to think that it was only 10 years ago that same-sex couples were allowed to marry, and that only came 10 years after civil partnerships were introduced, which same-sex couple could enter into. It is almost inconceivable that those changes, which I think are so overwhelmingly accepted as part and parcel of partnership and marriage, were made so very recently. I think the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Olivia Blake) put it very well when she called for us not just to tolerate but to celebrate LGBT+ communities. It is true that we have come a long way in relatively recent times, but we have obviously been playing catch-up because change was well overdue. It is beyond time for further change, such as a ban on conversion practices, which we have heard so much about today. The SNP Scottish Government are very clear on the need to act to end conversion practices and to ensure that everyone, regardless of their identity, is protected from them. That is progress that we need to see all across these islands.

I am very sorry that I was unable to join the hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Lloyd Russell-Moyle) last week in the debate on his private Member’s Bill—the Conversion Therapy (Prohibition) Bill—but I saw enough to think that unfortunately this place did not come away looking particularly good. We need to be able to discuss and listen to others without some of the heat that seems to be inevitable at the moment. Unfortunately, that heat is ramped up to some extent by the U-turning, stopping and starting, and obfuscating on this topic from this Government—not this Minister—and by the desire in some quarters to polarise, demonise or to problematise, as the hon. Member for Wallasey described. It is a clearly a direction of travel that is mirrored and influenced by increasing populism and division across the globe. But we do not need to do those things, and we do not need to accept that direction of travel as inevitable. Nobody benefits from it, and it causes such significant worry and harm to LGBT communities.

That worry exists with good reason when we look at the statistics. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation are reportedly up 112% from five years ago, and hate crimes against trans people are up 186% over that same period. I was struck by what the Law Commission’s hate crime report said about how members of Governments and legislatures across the UK should not engage in “culture war” targeting of the trans community, or use their positions to stir up fear and hostility towards trans people, and that all Governments across the UK should commit to addressing the causes of rising LGBT+ hate crimes. Surely it is difficult to argue with that.

Amidst all this, it is really important that we do our best in this conversation to make sure that young people are provided with constructive and conclusive education. I am always really proud to stand up in this place and talk about the exceptional work that the Time for Inclusive Education campaign has done to deliver that inclusive education in Scottish schools. That is important and welcome to me as a mum, and I know that my views are shared by the vast majority of parents—a recent survey found that 70% of parents support the national LGBT+ inclusive education programme.

I have said before that the current situation is a far cry from my school days, and it was interesting to hear the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) reflect on his school days. It was admittedly not yesterday that I was at school, but it was really clear to me when I was that no child in my school was LGBT+. I went to a perfectly nice school, but I was at school in the 1980s, when section 28 was big news.

The hon. Member for Wallasey spoke powerfully about the hugely difficult times in the 1980s and the terrible impact they had on people. I, too, looked back to what was being said at that time, and it is very easy to see why people felt that they should keep their identities hidden. Margaret Thatcher said in her 1986 Conservative party conference speech that

“children are being cheated of a sound start in life”

due to

“being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay.”

It is quite hard to read and say that now. Of course gay people have an inalienable right to be gay—because they are gay. In my school, the truth of course was that many pupils were gay. There were LGBT+ pupils in the school, but they felt they needed to keep that to themselves and move on in their lives, and move on in time, before making that known. We cannot go backwards, to a time when being LGBT+ was some kind of taboo—how can it be taboo to be yourself? I think the attitudes of young people will be instrumental in making sure that that rowing back, which some people would unfortunately like to see, will not happen.

I want to mention someone who is a real inspiration to young people, and to some of us who are a bit older as well—someone who is a change maker and very much to be admired. In September 2022, Zander Murray became the first senior Scottish footballer to come out as gay. He currently plays for Bonnyrigg Rose, a professional club in Scottish League Two, and he is a bit of a goal-scoring machine. He is now the first openly gay player in Scottish football since Justin Fashanu.

Since he has come out, Zander has been really passionate about and committed to being a role model to the sporting community, and to empowering young people—particularly footballers—to be their true authentic selves. That is incredibly powerful and important. To quote Zander:

“Whilst growing up, unfortunately I felt my life in football and my sexuality could not coexist. I felt that I needed to keep it hidden and fight against it for years which resulted in numerous missed opportunities and internal struggle. Fortunately, I am now at peace with myself and more importantly I have found an amazing community that I want to stand up for and be an active ally for. It is now really important that I play my part to ensure no one experiences what I did and that all young LGBT+ people know that football and any other sport is a place where they can thrive.”

That is surely a sentiment that all of us would agree with.

Zander is clearly making a huge difference. He is retiring at the end of this season, and I have no doubt that he will continue to make a positive difference and be a really important voice in this conversation. We all need to engage in that conversation a great deal more—not just the people in this Chamber, who I know do so with good will and enthusiasm at all times. We need a much broader conversation that people such as Zander will be able to inspire others to take part in.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stuart Andrew)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I, too, thank my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) and the hon. Member for Wallasey (Dame Angela Eagle) for securing the debate, which is an important one for so many reasons. For too long, the history of LGBT people’s lives, their stories and their love were hidden. The achievements of people, including the advancements and breakthroughs that they made, were recorded but never acknowledged or celebrated, simply because they were LGBT.

We have had some really thoughtful contributions this afternoon. In opening the debate, my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington rightly talked about the international changes that have happened —some good; some really very worrying indeed—and how we cannot take progress for granted. The hon. Member for Wallasey agreed, reminding us that we need to be mindful of the risks that exist and that by fighting together we can make sure that progress continues to be made.

The hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) talked about Pride events in Wales and how things are different today, including in villages. As someone who grew up on the Isle of Anglesey back in the 1970s and 1980s, I remember that if you wanted to go to a gay club, you had to travel miles into Llandudno on the first Monday of the month. It really has been interesting to listen to the debate, although one of the most shocking things I heard was that the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Olivia Blake) was born in 1990, which makes me feel incredibly old.

As the hon. Member for Wallasey said, it is important for us as LGBT people to remember our past and understand it, to celebrate our present and to create our future. Those are the principles of LGBT History Month, and they are the principles that I and many people here in Parliament are proud to stand up for today, in a House that has more LGBT people than ever before.

We have rightly remembered many of the battles for rights and the fact that persistence was often the way to ensure things happened. Whether it be in respect of section 28, the gender recognition certificate, the age of consent or equal marriage, the remark by the hon. Member for Wallasey about the sky not falling in was very true indeed. In fact, I remember that after the equal marriage debate people were very quickly boasting that they had been to a gay wedding, and celebrating that fact.

The theme for LGBT History Month this year is the celebration of the contributions made by LGBT people in the fields of medicine and healthcare. We are asked to look “under the scope” and recognise the invaluable contributions of LGBT people across the medical and healthcare sectors—including in our world-renowned NHS—which have often been overlooked, so for a moment I will reflect on that.

The UK has long been known for trailblazing healthcare professionals, and I am proud that this debate gives me a chance to pay tribute to some of those trailblazers who were LGBT. Dr Sophia Jex-Blake was a 19th-century Scottish physician who was most widely known as Scotland’s first ever practising female doctor, and for her pivotal role as a member of the Edinburgh Seven. Sophia devoted her life to the advancement of women’s rights in the field of medicine and helped to lead the campaign to secure women’s access to university education. After qualifying as a doctor, she helped to found two medical schools for women, in London and Edinburgh, at a time when medical schools were training only men.

Sophia retired to Sussex in 1899, where she moved in with Dr Margaret Todd, a fellow physician who many believe was her partner. Sophia was never openly a lesbian, but upon her death Margaret published Sophia’s private musings, many of which confessed her love for women.

Another extraordinary and hidden story is the life of Sir Ewan Forbes. On the surface, his life might appear to be one of genericity. Born into an aristocratic family in Aberdeenshire, Ewan graduated as a doctor in his early 30s and began practising as a local GP. Not long afterwards, he married Isabella Mitchell. From a young age, Ewan was open about his transgender identity, at a time when being trans was not understood and certainly was not socially acceptable. Although registered female at birth, Ewan recognised that his legal sex was not his true self and, with the support of his family, was believed to have undergone pioneering gender-affirming care.

Upon marrying his wife, Ewan sought to make the marriage legal by seeking legal gender recognition in 1952. Although a taboo topic at the time, it was relatively smoothly awarded upon that request. However, Ewan’s legal recognition was later questioned when his older brother died and he was set to inherit the fortune and become a baron. At the time, this was seen as scandalous, as many did not accept the legal gender recognition. Ewan took the case to the Scottish Court of Session and won. Despite the case being conducted in secrecy, it marked a pivotal moment in transgender rights. The fascinating details of Ewan’s life were recently recorded in a book, “The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes”, which is a much-recommended read.

As others have said today, we should think not just about the past, but the future, and the present day. That gives me an opportunity to pay tribute to my colleague, Dr Michael Brady. Michael is a sexual health and HIV consultant at King’s College Hospital, as well as NHS England’s first ever national adviser for LGBT health, where he leads work to tackle health inequalities faced by the LGBT community.

Michael has long worked for better healthcare for LGBT people. Alongside his role as national LGBT health adviser, Michael spent 15 years as the medical director at the Terrence Higgins Trust. He played a huge role in advocating for the national roll-out of pre-exposure prophylaxis—PrEP—the HIV prevention drug. He consistently strives to improve healthcare provision and outcomes for LGBT people in his everyday role. I pay tribute to all the others we could mention under the theme of LGBT History Month.

I come on to some of the other points raised today, including the international picture. I absolutely recognise the great strides that many countries have made—colleagues have raised many important points—but, clearly, there are some awful things still happening. As many have mentioned, the laws in Uganda, Ghana, Hungary and Russia are extremely concerning.

I assure hon. Members that, as a Government, we continue to raise these issues whenever we have the opportunity. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has a new five-year, £40 million LGBT rights programme. That programme will hopefully transform the lives of millions of LGBT people around the world, by reducing the violence and discrimination that they experience, and by offering support to those who campaign, sometimes very bravely in hostile environments.

[Kirsten Oswald]

I am interested in the Minister’s point about the situation in different countries overseas. What are his reflections on the situation for LGBT+ people in Rwanda? Is he able to tell us his thoughts in relation to his Government’s plans there?

[Stuart Andrew]

My view is very clear. Wherever there are challenges for LGBT people, we have a duty to raise them at every point. That is not just in Rwanda. There are lots of other countries in which we have lots of different agreements. It is important to raise the issues, even with good friends of ours, when we think that they are making decisions that are not in the best interests of the community that we all want to support.