Pride Month

Charlotte Nichols Excerpts

Thursday 15th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) and my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Dame Angela Eagle) for securing the debate. The fact that we have this important annual debate for Pride Month, and the very fact of its existence, says something very positive about the progressive change that we have seen in Parliament and as a society in a relatively short time, since the disgraceful and discriminatory treatment following her outing of the lesbian MP Maureen Colquhoun in the late 1970s, and Chris Smith’s becoming the UK’s first openly gay MP in 1984.

Let me first associate myself, Mr Deputy Speaker, with your tribute to the late Glenda Jackson, who was a true ally of the LGBT community and who always advocated strongly for the rights of LGBT people in her constituency and around the world—an example that I think all parliamentarians should aspire to follow.

Pride is important because somewhere tonight, someone will still believe that they are better off dead than being themselves. Pride is important because there are countries all around the world where being LGBT is not only illegal, but could mean life imprisonment or even the death penalty. Pride is important because too many parents would rather disown their children than love them for who they are, which is one of the key drivers of homelessness among LGBT youth. Pride Month is an opportunity for us to celebrate who we are and the progress we have made, to acknowledge the giants on whose shoulders we stand but also to highlight ongoing issues and chart a course for fixing them.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the repeal of section 28. I was in year 9 when it was first legal for teachers even to acknowledge that LGBT people existed, let alone offer any kind of pastoral support to students who might be struggling to come to terms with their sexuality or experiencing bullying because of it. I know the difference that it made to me, as a teenager, when my art teacher, Mrs Tibbatts, was able to broach the subject with me gently after picking up on some unhappy and sapphic themes, shall we say, in my artwork. She did not “make me LGBT”, but she did let me know that she really would not care if I was, and made me feel, for the first time, comfortable and unbothered about being bisexual. When, many years later, I came out to friends and family, I was lucky to be met with the same kind of supportive indifference.

My favourite example recently was from a constituent of mine, a much older woman I met through one of my local churches. She asked me what I was doing after the visit. I told her that I had a date and she said, “Ooh, tell me about him, then. Where did you meet?” I said, “Actually, the date’s with a woman,” and she turned to me and said, “Oh yes, of course; I shouldn’t really have assumed, should I?” Then she was like, “Anyway, tell me about her. Where did you meet?” What she was interested in was the gossip, not the specificities of who it was. She had no problem with her MP going on a date with a women, nor should she. But this supportive indifference is not something that I take for granted, knowing from my friends, colleagues and constituency mailbag how many LGBT people have been met with hostility, discrimination and even violence on coming out. But all of us should be able to, and until everyone can, that is why Pride matters.

It is horrible, having seen the difference that section 28’s repeal has made even in my own time in education, that there are those in this place who would see it brought back by the back door. We clearly need changes to relationships and sex education in schools to ensure that we have something that is LGBT-inclusive and that focuses on bodily autonomy, consent, respect, and the establishing and communication of boundaries; but that is not what is being proposed. It is about shutting it down and creating a hostile environment for LGBT youth.

This is important, and not just for young people who are themselves LGBT and may be at risk of harm if they have to rely on the internet to search out information on LGBT relationships or safe sex. It is important because more and more young people are growing up in households where their parents are LGBT and because of what that means for the discrimination they may face as a family, and because all of us will come into contact with LGBT people throughout our social and working lives.

There are those in this place who argue that parents should be able to opt their children out of having LGBT-inclusive relationship and sex education at school until they are 16 or potentially 18 years old. This comes in the context of a rise in violent attacks being perpetrated against LGBT people, including where the perpetrators are under that age threshold. There was a case recently in Liverpool of a homophobic hate crime where three men were assaulted and subjected to homophobic abuse by a group of teenagers, one of whom had a knife. Where exactly are we meant to deal with the hatred that sits behind these crimes—promoting a more inclusive and just society, and the right of us all to have happy, healthy and safe relationships—if we cannot even lay the foundation for that in our schools and classrooms?

My community in Warrington North, and the quiet, sleepy village of Culcheth, was cast into the national and international spotlight for all the wrong reasons in February this year, after the murder of Brianna Ghey. Brianna was 16 years old. She was much loved by her family, her classmates and her community, and she was also trans. With the upcoming trial of those accused of her murder, both of whom were under 16, I am going to be very careful not to say anything that is sub judice. What I want to point to though, in the wake of what has happened, is the fact that Brianna was out at school. She was supported by her school and by her family. Her mother has given a really beautiful interview, which I encourage everyone to read, with the Warrington Guardian this week, in which she says:

“I was proud that she was who she wanted to be and felt comfortable to tell us as a family…who she was.”

That is something that everyone should have the right to do. I hope every school can be as proactive as Birchwood High School has been in supporting LGBT students to live as themselves at school and in making sure that they receive that support, so that who they are has no bearing on their ability to access their education in a safe, nurturing and welcoming environment.

As we have heard from colleagues across the House, the very fact that we can talk about Pride as something to be celebrated is fantastic, and I am glad that we have this annual event. But until we live in a society where everyone can be themselves without risk of discrimination or violence, and where we can all talk about Pride purely as a celebration, without having to come to these debates and say anything negative, I will remain grateful to Members for securing debates such as this. I hope the Minister will give us some clear information in his response about the many issues raised that still need to be resolved—the concerns about RSE in schools, conversion therapy, LGBT homelessness, and all these other issues—to get us to that place as a country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle]

Very good. There is competition looming for Brighton and Hove.

We now have Prides along the south coast in Seaford, Hastings, Eastbourne and Worthing, but it is a very recent development that we have seen such a huge number of public Prides. I lived in Bradford between 2005 and 2012 and, when I first arrived, our Pride events were held in basements. In fact, in 2008, we held one in a basement club with bouncers on the door to make sure we were safe.

The year after, many pioneers in Bradford—and I played only a very small role—decided that enough was enough and a public Pride would take place. The city centre square was secured and, as opposed to the protests in the 1970s and 1980s, the first public manifestation of Pride in Bradford celebrated diversity, and there was an awful lot of concern. Of course, we had had race riots only a few years before, and people were worried. Would Bradfordians really want something like this in their town square?

Well, the sun shone and the square was filled with families, friends and passers-by all joining in and wearing rainbow dresses. Drag queens mingled with people wearing football shirts because, of course, that year Bradford also got to the cup final. Everyone just got on and enjoyed the event. It seemed that Pride had not only come but had taken too long, because it was not an issue and people were enjoying themselves.

But, of course, when we talk about LGB, we cannot forget the T. Brighton has been at the forefront of acceptance and equality, and this year we are hosting our 10th Trans Pride on 14 July. It is the largest Trans Pride in Europe, and I have been a regular attender since its early years.

The trans community is under attack by fierce, hate-filled newspapers and right-wing culture warriors. For the trans community, Pride provides a sanctuary away from the hate, surrounded by fellow queers and allies, and stands as a beacon of political radicalism pushing against the political hate.

There is still a lot more to do. There are failures in the Commonwealth, and we have seen progress reversed. The asylum system lets down LGBT people too often, and it is intrusive in the answers and demonstrations that people need to show. We know that relationship and sexual health education is now under attack, only a few short years after it was introduced in our schools.

Conversion therapy has still not been banned, and I hope the Minister will give us reassurances. I am afraid the Government opened the trans Pandora’s box when they said they would review the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and then, for years, failed to bring forward concrete proposals on how it would be done. In those years, everyone’s worst fears and nightmares were put into a melting pot stirred by right-wingers who, of course, saw it as a great victory. They were able to question the very rights secured by the Act—that is the problem with opening up Acts without making positive proposals—and now we see the same happening with the Equality Act.

[Charlotte Nichols]

I am very mindful of what my hon. Friend says about the Pandora’s box that has been opened on transphobia by some of the debates in this place. I referred in my speech to the comments made by Brianna Ghey’s mother on the sickening trolling of her family on Mumsnet, Twitter and other places, with people making awful transphobic comments about her daughter. Does my hon. Friend agree it is incumbent on all of us to make sure that, in this place, we are not fanning the flames of that kind of hatred?

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle]

My hon. Friend is quite right. My thoughts are with Brianna’s family and friends. We came out in solidarity in Brighton, and it is terribly sad.

Unfortunately, those who welcome reviews of the Equality Act, no matter with what caveats, are fanning the flames of hate and they cannot call themselves allies to the community. We must be clear: the opening up of that Act is a retrograde step when it does not come with clear, concrete proposals that we can materially discuss and debate.

We see also the banning of puberty blockers for under 18s. Puberty blockers are deliberately designed to delay the process of puberty, not to prevent or stop it, so that those young people can be given more time to work out who they are and what they will become. The banning of puberty blockers for under-18s is a cruelty because it forces people to go through puberty when they might not and should not be ready for it. We know, because of the judgments in swimming and other sports, that if they go through puberty, they will be banned for life from certain activities, even if they change their gender. So the ban on those blockers is a particularly cruel and nasty form of discrimination that will last for those children’s lifetime. People who support that, in hand-wringing ways, saying, “Well, it is still a bit unsure” are not thinking about the wider consequences for those individuals. A puberty blocker does not stop someone changing their mind; they can revert back. A very small number of people might decide to do so. Of course we have seen huge cuts in sexual health services, which have ended up particularly targeting the LGBT community.

When I first arrived in this Parliament, only six years ago, relationships, sex and health education was normalised. It was being implemented by a Conservative Government and it seemed as though progress could only go forward. The Labour party even removed the Whip from one of its MPs and his ability to stand because he supported the anti-LGBT, RSHE protests outside schools, endangering children. The Labour party took a stand and the Conservative party was equally taking a stand. It apologised for section 28 and it felt as if we were united, all moving forward. But then the dirty money from the evangelical right in America started to flood in, often through Tufton Street, where extreme right-wing organisations are based. We have seen climate denial, the reckless economic policies from the right hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) and the LGB Alliance—all dangerous organisations that wish to roll back the progress we have made. We now have some Tory, Labour and SNP MPs—it is across the House—spreading fear and hatred about our community, and our parties seem unable to enforce any form of discipline and dignity for our community, instead allowing that to run amok. This is not one party or another; it has infected all our parties and they seem to be totally unable to stand up to hate.

We have MPs in this Chamber who sit on conversion therapy boards and then organise petitions to try to review RSHE. They are not neutral people, but they seem to have the ear of the Prime Minister and to have the Zeitgeist behind them. How do we turn that around? How did things get turned around in those six years? How do we move forward to start bringing dignity back to all of our parties and back to this place for LGBT people? A lot of this has been cheered on by those extremist backers, the same ones who have supported the Uganda reforms and who are supporting the reforms in the USA. They are the same people who advise people such as Putin and others in Russia who are pushing back against LGBT people there. There is a golden thread and, if our parties and our Parliament cannot see that, we are in dangerous territory.

Some politicians have stood as strong allies, with President Biden a good example in the US. He is a shining example when he says to trans kids, “You are loved, you have body autonomy and I, and we, will defend your rights.” I would love to see any of our party leaders be as unequivocal as him, and be clear that trans people have our support and that we do not get drawn into this parental consent nonsense, where people say that children should be outed to their parents, or that parents should know when they are going through these difficult times. Of course I would love parents to know, but it is not appropriate for all parents and for all children. The law must be written for the worst and there are some bad parents out there. We cannot send their children to parental arms that might be those of abusers.

As I was saying, that money has infected our politics and our political discourse. Pride is a celebration of our diversity, in all different forms, but it also says that we should be treated equally. That means many LGBT people will want to live in different ways, not just the 2.4 traditional monogamous family, although I recognise that many LGBT people will want to be the 2.4 traditional monogamous family. We celebrate all those sexual diversities that were once marginalised that are based on consent between adults and we celebrate them in Pride. Pride is a moment for us to remember where we have come from and to ensure that love conquers hate. So happy Pride Month. Let our hearts win over hate and, finally, Mr Deputy Speaker, in the words of Kylie, “Padam, Padam.”

--- Later in debate ---

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful for that intervention. I believe the hon. Member will be well aware of where Labour has stood on these matters, as we always stand on these matters: we believe it is incredibly important that LGBT+ people are not used as a political football in any circumstances. We have long called for a resolution to that issue and for the Scottish and UK Governments to work with each other, but I am afraid that they did not do that. We should have seen that, and above all we should have seen trans people treated fairly during this period. I am afraid it is they who have been let down.

I know that some on the Government side—not the Minister, I am sure—may say that the rise in hate crime is down to better recording of hate crime rather than an increase in crime itself. Although we welcome, of course, improvements in police-recorded hate crime, that does not explain the huge soaring of the levels of hate crime against LGBT+ people and other groups. My party will follow the recommendation made by the Law Commission five years ago to strengthen and equalise the law so that every category of hate crime is treated as an aggravated offence. This is not about redefining what hate crime is, as some have wrongly claimed; it is about fixing a basic inequality in the law so that everyone who falls victim to hate crime is treated equally. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) for her powerful words on that subject. The Government should have made that change years ago, and I hope that the Minister will commit to doing so today.

Labour will also seek to build consensus around modernising the Gender Recognition Act to remove indignities for trans people while upholding the Equality Act, its protected characteristics and its provision for single-sex spaces. We will also appoint an international LGBT+ rights envoy to raise awareness and improve rights across the world—rights on which many countries are, unfortunately, going backwards, as Members have reflected. The hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington rightly spoke about Britain’s influence in that matter. We can do more, however, and I praise the Kaleidoscope Trust for all its work in that area.

We have heard again, perhaps understandably, the claim that this is the gayest Parliament in the world. I know that there are gay, lesbian, bi and trans people in Parliaments right across the world, but sadly they are far too often unable to be public about who they are because of the appalling reprisals that they would suffer.

[Charlotte Nichols]

During a recent visit to Kenya with STOPAIDS, charities over there that support people in the LGBT community—they live in a country where that community is illegal—were really impressed and excited about our being allegedly the gayest Parliament in the world. One thing they said to me that I found quite moving was that, even in the gayest Parliament in the world, we are still going backwards in many places on LGBT rights, so it is important that, while we recognise that achievement, we acknowledge that being the gayest Parliament in the world does not mean that we are putting through the best policies for LGBT people here or globally.

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that strong warning against any form of complacency. Many speakers have referred to that during the debate. Sadly, there are areas in which we are going backwards. I have just mentioned the unfortunate increased levels of abuse, including physical abuse, that many LGBT+ people have been experiencing. Sadly, that often also takes place in the workplace. Labour is committed to taking action against that. We will bring in a new deal for working people that will require employers to create and maintain workplaces free from LGBT+ harassment, including by third parties—it often comes from customers and service users.

We need to tackle the issues around LGBT+ healthcare as well. We will ensure that we have one of the biggest expansions of the NHS workforce in history so that everyone, including LGBT+ people, can access the treatment that they need on time. We will heed the advice of experts from the British Medical Association and Mind that conversion practices constitute abuse. We need an inclusive ban of such practices in all their forms for all LGBT people, and of course, we can do that while protecting the provision of legitimate counselling and talking therapies. We need a ban that is laser-targeted at coercive conversion practices, not one that can be assailed by strawman arguments about what does and does not constitute conversion therapy. International best practice shows that that is perfectly possible via well-drafted and precise legislation. Of course, the ban must close loopholes allowing anyone to “consent” to conversion practices, as no one can consent to abuse. I was encouraged by the comments made from the Government Benches on that subject. I would appreciate it if the Minister could give us an update on this issue. It is urgent, and I know that many of the campaigners who have worked on it for many years really want to see progress.

We will always seek to bring people together around these issues, discuss them using evidence and make sure that we respect each other in those debates, rather than ramping up rhetoric and using LGBT+ people as political footballs. Pride Month reminds us that division will get us nowhere and that there is power in coming together to demand action and change. I hope the Minister will agree that we cannot continue to see progress stall on LGBT+ rights in Britain.

I hope we can stand here in Pride Months to come and celebrate LGBT+ people walking safely through our streets, freely going about their lives without fear of harassment, hate crime, conversion practices or other forms of unequal and prejudiced treatment. For too long, progress has been blocked by division and delay, but the British people are fair-minded; they want to see LGBT+ people treated with dignity, equality and respect. As my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey said in her powerful speech, a diverse society is a strong society.