LGBT+ History Month

Siân Berry Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[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 The Government are engaging with stakeholders including parents, teachers and pupils to discuss the draft guidance on RSHE and gender questioning in schools and colleges, and drawing from available evidence, including the Cass review, to finalise the guidance.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.