LGBT History Month

Stephen Doughty Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2024 Westminster Hall

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Mr Stringer, and to follow two excellent speeches by the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) and my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Dame Angela Eagle). They have said many things that I agree with. I will touch on a few of those things but will also cover some other areas.

I join everybody else in belatedly wishing everyone a happy LGBT+ History Month. It is important, and I want particularly to thank the individuals who set this up many years ago. It allows us to reflect on where we were, where we are, and where we have to go. It also enables us to look at aspects of the LGBT+ history of this country and the globe. I declare my interest as a member of the all-party parliamentary group on global LGBT+ rights and as co-chair of the LGBT+ parliamentary Labour party group with my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey, who is sitting next to me.

It is worth reflecting on the hard evidence of how far we have come in a positive direction. The latest British Social Attitudes Survey report came out in September last year, and it details many of the positive changes in attitudes of the last 40 years. In 1983, only 17% of people believed that same-sex relations were “not wrong at all”; that is 67% today. The proportion of those who said that same-sex relations were “always wrong” has fallen from 50%—half of the population—to just 9% today. That is still far too high and amounts to nearly one in 10 people, but it shows the progress we have made as a result of campaigners, activism, Governments taking leadership and decisions on these issues, and change within organisations that have previously been extraordinarily conservative themselves, including in parts of many faith communities. I say that as a Christian. There has been huge changes within the Church—again, it still does not go far enough for my liking, but there has certainly been a lot of progress. We have many more inclusive places of worship and places of faith across this country than we did in the 1980s, for example.

However, it is also important to reflect on the negatives and where we are actually going backwards. That same survey showed that, since 2019, the proportion of people who described themselves as

“not at all prejudiced against transgender people”

has fallen from 82% to 64%. That is just since 2019—in the last five years. That is quite a rapid decline in support for, and awareness and acceptance of, those with transgender and non-binary identities. It should be a wake-up call and a worrying call to us all to see such positive changes in some aspects of rights but such backsliding on others in just a few years. The reasons why that has happened in this country, but not in all countries across Europe or the globe, have already been accurately reflected on. These changes are happening for a reason. Many of us have touched on it in debates in this place before. It is deeply concerning and worrying, not least when it is combined with hate crime statistics and the very sharp, violent and in some cases tragically life-ending circumstances that we have heard debated in this place in recent weeks.

I do not say this as any reflection on the two Conservative Members present, the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington and the right hon. Member for Pudsey (Stuart Andrew), because I know that they are very strong advocates and have spoken out bravely against challenges in their own party over recent years, but I will always look back. I have a poster on my phone that somebody once sent to me. It was issued by Conservative central office in Smith Square in the 1980s. At the top, it says, “Labour Camp”, and it depicts people holding up banners in the street, reading “Gay Sports Day” and “Gay Lib”, followed by:

“Do you want to live in it? Think about it. Conservative.”

It was published privately by central office—the headquarters of the party, not by some activist or individual—in the 1980s. I know that is not the party as it is today, and I sincerely hope that it would never publish that sort of material in the future. It certainly would not be approved by the Members in this room from the party, but I worry about the language and divisive rhetoric of those who are perhaps auditioning to be a future Conservative leader or seeking to take their party in a very different direction.

One of the hallmarks of the work of the APPG on global LGBT+ rights and of many of the forums in this place and in our parties is our unity on basic principles of human rights, equality, and inclusion, regardless of huge divisions on other matters relating to the running of the country. There is unity on the fact that we should not have that kind of division, language and problematisation of minority populations in this country. I know that the two Conservatives here do not take that approach. They believe in an inclusive and open party, but it is a big problem to hear senior figures saying some of the things they have done in recent weeks. In our party, we know all too well that when things are being done and said that are completely unacceptable, it takes bravery and courage to speak up and stand up and be counted when it matters—even when that is on somebody’s own side. I certainly hope we will see a pushback against that kind of language. We do not want to go back to those days when Conservative party headquarters was putting out material like that.

I would like to reflect a little on my own constituency and some of the fantastic organisations and groups, not only in Cardiff South and Penarth, but across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. They are testament to our current vibrant LGBT+-inclusive communities and have been key to shifts and changes in social attitudes and behaviours in recent years. I think particularly of Pride Cymru, which organises our annual Pride parade in Cardiff, and our local Prides. Over the last few years, I have been able to attend a number of local Prides in Wales. They simply would not have happened when I was a young person growing up, completely repressed and closeted in south Wales. Llantwit Major, where I went to school—a town in the neighbouring constituency of Vale of Glamorgan—held its own Pride a little while ago. There was even an LGBT flag flying from the church. I literally could not have believed that as a child growing up in that town.

I was also proud to march alongside many others at Barry Pride. I went along to Newport Pride; again, that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. And we all come together for the national celebration in Cardiff. I really pay tribute to all the volunteers and organisers who do such incredible work with Pride Cymru. It draws on the history from the early days of the Mardi Gras in Cardiff, right through to what we see today, which is vibrant, inclusive to all people, all ethnicities, all races, all religions, all ages—it is a festival of inclusivity. It is a lot of fun, with great music—a great day out for all. Those festivals and coming togethers have been key and are indicative of the progress that has been made.

I also want to pay tribute to the key figures of the LGBT+ community, some of whom have great historical knowledge and perspective. There are two I want to mention today. The first is my very good friend and neighbour— I declare an interest, because she sometimes feeds my cat—the wonderful Lisa Power, who was one of the original founders of Stonewall, an original operator on the LGBT+ Switchboard and a former director of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust. She is also a historian of the LGBT rights movement in the UK and has written some fantastic books and articles. She has been part of a team researching LGBT+ history and lost venues and locations in Cardiff and Wales. It is fantastic to be able to see how that heritage has developed over time.

Russell T. Davies is also a key figure on the scene, not only for his work on “Doctor Who” and other leading series, but, critically, his work on the series “It’s a Sin”, which showed very powerfully a few years ago the remarkable struggles of those who were involved in HIV campaigning and wider LGBT+ campaigning, which was so critical in the 1980s, and the tragic circumstances that many went through. It is by getting those stories to the screen and reminding people what happened that we can achieve progress going forward. Those are just two key people I wanted to mention from our local community.

Today, we see Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan as a hub of excellent TV and film production, including queer and LGBT-inclusive TV and film production. I think particularly of “Doctor Who”—filmed in my own constituency, with BBC Studios, Bad Wolf and now Disney+ —which has always had an inclusive approach to LGBT+ characters. In recent times, it was a real pleasure to join Ncuti Gatwa at the premiere with the BBC just before Christmas—many MPs went along to that fantastic event. There is also the famous series “Sex Education” on Netflix, which is filmed largely in my constituency. It is a hugely popular worldwide hit and is rooted in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan; some of it is also filmed in Newport.

I want to pay tribute to some of our incredible local venues. I mentioned the lost venues, but we are very lucky to have so many vibrant venues in Cardiff, with new ones opening up. Recently, we had a new venue open, the Dock Feeder, just down from the new canal in Cardiff, which is an uncovering of the old Dock Feeder canal. We are trying to do something similar to Manchester, although not quite on that scale. It is really positive to see. There are venues like the Golden Cross—I declare an interest as a regular visitor; there is Mary’s, Pulse and so many others. These venues are the lifeblood of our LGBT+ communities. It is important that we recognise the role that venues have played in providing safe spaces and places not only for expression but for bringing together LGBT+ communities, particularly in the past when being a member of those communities could have landed someone in a lot of trouble, or worse. Those venues still play a crucial role and it is important that we protect and recognise them as safe and welcoming spaces for the LGBT+ community.

I think of places such as the Queer Emporium in the centre of Cardiff, which provides an awful lot of material and clothing and which is, again, a safe place for people to meet. Also, we have the wonderful LGBT+ societies at our universities in Cardiff, organisations such as Glitter Cymru, those that work with black and minority ethnic communities in particular and the work done by specific organisations on issues not only affecting the LGBT+ community but more broadly, such as Fast Track Cymru, which is doing work to end HIV transmissions and wider work around sexual health in south Wales. I wanted to touch on some of those because it is important we recognise and celebrate not only what all those organisations have done in the past but what they are doing today.

I will now come to some of the issues already covered by my hon. Friends. On conversion therapy, I share the sadness, concern and disappointment at the failure of the very reasonable Bill put forward by my hon. Friend the Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Lloyd Russell-Moyle) to progress through the House and some of the quite divisive and unhelpful speeches heard during the debate. Conversion therapy is abuse, and it is a vile and abhorrent practice. I have met survivors of conversion therapy and know what damage it has done to them. I do not want to name individuals, but there have been really harmful mental health impacts, such as self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and the lifelong impact of forcing someone to try and deny who they are.

The practice needs to be stamped out. It is hugely disappointing that the Government have not moved on the matter and I hope the Minister can say a little bit on that when he gets up. It was deeply disappointing that the House did not allow that reasonable Bill to make progress. However, I am pleased that if a Labour Government were elected, we have made clear that we would implement a fully inclusive ban on conversion therapy in all its forms. It is crucial we do that sooner rather than later and I am astonished that the practice still goes on in this country in 2024. It needs to be ended.

We have already talked a little about hate crime. I led a debate in this place just a few months ago on the subject and we have heard some of the statistics. It was deeply disappointing that the Minister at the time used the word “hysterical” in referring to some of the comments made in the debate. Hon. Members from all parties had spoken up against hate crime in a non-partisan way, telling real stories that had affected their constituents and other people up and down the country, and the statistics bear that out. To then have that slightly dismissive response from a Minister was deeply disappointing—it was not the Minister who is here today. I hope he can reassure us that that is not the position of the Government and that they take hate crime seriously.

As has been reported, we have seen a 11% increase in hate crimes against trans people in just a year, a 186% increase in the last five years and although there was a slight fall in crimes against people on the basis of their sexuality last year, that is masked by a 112% increase in hate crimes in the last five years. Again, I am sorry to have to declare an interest, but I too have been victim of an aspect of homophobic assault in my constituency. I have also experienced online and other abuse, as I am sure many other hon. Members have. It is a sad fact that these days, particularly for those of us in public life or in the public eye more generally—I think of people in all lines of work, such as journalists, public officials and others—if someone is a woman, if they are black, if they are brown, if they are Jewish, if they are Muslim, if they are gay, if they are trans, if they are lesbian, the reality is that they will face a substantially higher level of abuse and, I am afraid to say, risk as a result of their work. That has to end; it has to stop. Frankly, social media companies and others need to do a lot more to crack down on the matter, but unfortunately, it is being fuelled by the divisive rhetoric and language being used by some in senior public positions. That has a real-world effect on the ground.

We also know from the Government’s own reporting that they believe there is significant under-reporting and fewer than one in 10 people who are victims of hate crime in that way are actually reporting it. I know that my own police force in south Wales takes these matters very seriously, and I commend it on its work in this area. It does not get everything right, but it has certainly been active and proactive on the issues. However, that is not the case in all parts of the UK. Trust levels in the police in some parts of the country are not what they should be, not least in the Metropolitan police. After some of the incidents in the past, we all know why that might be.

I do not want to go into this too much, because of my shadow Front-Bench role, but the global statistics on LGBT+ issues are of grave concern, not only in relation to the UK, which, as has been said, has fallen from first to 17th in the Rainbow ranking since 2015, but because of what we see in a number of countries across Europe, Africa and globally. That is before we mention places such as Russia, China and so on.

I share the great alarm at some of the recent developments that we have seen, particularly in countries in Africa. There are real questions to be asked, if those worst fears are realised in due course, about the terrifying impact that that will have on citizens in those countries. People will also ask serious questions about trade and investment. Businesses will be asking questions about where they choose to trade with, the sorts of relationships that they choose to have and the safety and security of staff, tourists, others and even Members of this House; I have travelled to one of those countries as part of a delegation. I would certainly think carefully about my involvement in such a visit in the future if I thought that I would be penalised for being who I am, at risk of jail or worse.

There are serious questions that need to be considered. I certainly hope that those things do not come to pass in the way that they have been travelling at the moment and that those countries will think again. However, our primary concern must be for those who, just like in this country, exist and have always existed; they should not be criminalised or subject to the types of abuse and punishment that they face. We need to ensure that we always listen to those activists about the best ways in which we can work with, assist and empower them to go forward and have their circumstances heard.

As I said, there are deep concerns in a number of countries across Europe as well. I engage regularly in these matters. Indeed, we have seen many of our UK overseas territories move forward in areas of inclusion and equality over the years. However, there are some discrepancies, particularly with regard to equal marriage, civil partnerships and other rights for LGBT+ individuals. I believe firmly in the autonomy of, and devolution of responsibility to, our overseas territories, but being part of the British family comes with responsibilities, which include the upholding of basic human rights and equalities.

I will end by saying, as others have, that we see worrying backsliding. Progress clearly cannot be taken for granted. We have only to look at the powerful book written by my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Sir Chris Bryant) about the experiences of secretly gay Members of this House in the relatively—for the time—permissive environment of Berlin in the 1930s, which changed subsequently and dramatically. That ended with LGBT people alongside 6 million Jews, Roma, Gypsies and others being taken to concentration camps. I am not suggesting that we are suddenly on the brink of that in this country, but we must all learn from those terrible examples in history where progress, open-mindedness and inclusivity seemed to be on the way, but were closed down suddenly and rapidly. We have seen that happen in a number of other countries.

We still have far too much to do in this country and, indeed, even in this place. I am pretty sure that if I asked to be married in a same-sex wedding in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, I would not be permitted to do so, because it is an Anglican church. I might be lucky and be able to get a blessing now, but that is direct discrimination in this building against Members of this House. I took the young son of a friend on a tour recently. I took them into the beautiful Chapel of St Mary Undercroft and explained that, and the child said, “The Church is mean”. I said, “I am afraid it is on this”—I say that as a member of the Church. The reality is that unless we see progress in all our institutions and all parts of society to fully respect and include every member of society, regardless of their sexuality, gender identity or other protected characteristics, then we still have a very long way to go.

I am very proud that our party has set out a number of key commitments were we to form the next Government. We saw a radical reforming Labour Government in 1997 in this area that made huge changes, whether that was on section 28, civil partnerships or the GRA. I am pleased by what my colleagues have set out regarding GRA modernisation, a ban on conversion therapy, and aggravated offences on hate crime. I am pleased by what my Labour colleagues in Wales have done on an inclusive curriculum, an LGBT+ action plan, and clear commitments to all of the community. That is the sort of society that we need to build—a society where everybody can be who they want, and one where we can all be who we want to be in this House too. That is why moments like LGBT History Month are so important.