LGBT+ History Month

Martin Rhodes Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) for her introduction to the debate.

According to data compiled by the House of Commons Library, over 10% of the population of my Glasgow North constituency identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual—one of the highest proportions in the country—and over 1% identify as transgender, which is also well above the national average. The data illustrate a wider story of a growing number of people feeling confident to live their lives openly as their true selves. At the same time, there are those who feel unable to do so, and those who feel that they can only be open about themselves in some circumstances but not in others.

The recent history of LGBT+ rights has seen a growing confidence shaping and being shaped by legislative change and by cultural-societal change: cultural-societal change influencing legislative change; and, in turn, legislative change influencing cultural-societal change. Progress has been made in recent decades, but for many that progress now feels less secure than ever.

LGBT+ History Month gives us an opportunity to reflect on this history: a history of prejudice and of progress; a history of shame and of pride; a history marked by hatred and by love. Too many personal histories have never fully been told, too many talents never fully celebrated, and too many denied the opportunities to live their lives fully. There are also those who, despite challenges and barriers, hatred and discrimination, have lived their lives as fully as they could, enhancing the lives of many and still remembered today.

Constituencies like mine, in large cities, have so often been a magnet for LGBT+ people, who see the big city as perhaps more liberal or more anonymous: the smalltown boy phenomenon, put into anthemic form by Bronski Beat in the ’80s. For many, big cities like Glasgow have been a lifeline and have become their space, but for too many others, the dazzle of the bright lights hid dark places.

The draw of the big city has been around for many decades. In 1933, two working-class Scots, Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde, often referred to as “the Two Roberts”, arrived at the Glasgow School of Art from Ayrshire. They went on to become renowned artists and shared a lifelong romantic relationship at a time when gay relationships were illegal. There are histories of LGBT+ artists, writers and musicians, but there are histories too—not recorded and not told—of LGBT+ shop assistants, delivery drivers and joiners. These histories need to be written and told.

As we recall and retell LGBT+ history this month, we celebrate progress but also recognise the difficult times. I was a teenager and became an adult in the 1980s, when the world was faced with what is now referred to as the AIDS crisis. At the time, I recall the newspaper headlines referring to “the gay plague”. I still remember clearly reading a news story about how schools were cancelling swimming lessons at a local authority swimming pool because gay men had been swimming there. I also remember a story about a café owner who reassured his customers by telling them not to worry, as he had smashed and got rid of the crockery and cutlery used by a gay customer and deep cleaned the café. There was a clear popular narrative that gay equals illness equals death. Even by 1996, when the film “Beautiful Thing” was released, it was still possible to shock by having a mainstream film with gay characters who end the film alive, well and happy.

LGBT+ History Month is an opportunity to recall history, to celebrate and to pay respects. It is also an opportunity in this place to reflect on how legislative change has not just been the result of cultural-societal change, but also how legislative change can be a tool to drive cultural-societal change. It is an opportunity for us in this place to reflect on that and to acknowledge the importance of the leadership that can be taken through legislative change. Ultimately, it is a call for us to act.

History moves on. It is our job to make the next legislative change. I look forward to hearing from the Minister about the progress that is being made to bring forward comprehensive and inclusive legislation to ban conversion practices outright. We need to bring forward that legislation, quite rightly, in response to calls for it, but also because it is our duty in this place not just to respond but also to lead progressively. It is for us to take action and to legislate to reflect the changes in society, but it also our duty to use the powers that we have to change society for the better. In this LGBT+ History Month, let us remember the history that has brought us to where we are, but also remember our responsibility to help shape the history that is still to be written.