Pride Month

Edward Morello Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

I will be brief, given the time limit that has been set. I must say I was slightly disappointed that there were not more musical numbers and puns from the Minister in his speech at the start—I am sure we will get some later.

I am really proud to represent Harrogate and Knaresborough. At the moment, Knaresborough High Street is adorned with flags celebrating Pride, and I know that our towns are incredibly tolerant and open places. Earlier this year, we had a particular incident with a candidate from the Conservatives standing in the local elections who posted really quite grim and disgusting tweets. I am really pleased that our towns rejected that at the ballot box. Harrogate used to have a Pride parade, but it stopped when the pandemic came along. I really hope that me and the Harrogate Pride organisation can get that up and running in due course.

[Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)]

I did not plan on intervening, but we had a hustings during the election, and one of the questions was about the upcoming Sherborne Pride. Unfortunately, I was amazed that even in this day and age there was not unanimous support for a Sherborne Pride. My first act as an MP was to go to the inaugural Sherborne Pride, and we have the second one coming up in a couple of weeks. Does my hon. Friend believe that the importance of Pride is showing inclusion for everybody?

[Tom Gordon]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and I completely agree with him. I am amazed that in this day and age, there are still places in which we dispute whether or not we should fly flags or have Pride celebrations. In my view, that is not British.

I want to briefly mention that in the days following the Supreme Court ruling, I had a trans constituent come into my office. She impressed upon me that her situation had fundamentally changed: she was worried about her rights, about being challenged in toilets, and that the Supreme Court’s decision ushered in a new era of uncertainty for trans people. I put on the record my support for the trans community, as Members from across this House who are present in the Chamber today have already done. However, we are in uncertain times, and it is incumbent on us all to make sure we stand up for the entire LGBT community. While I, too, was disappointed that political parties were banned from attending Pride in many cities this year, I understand why organisers have come to that conclusion. It is incumbent on all political parties to do better, and if we are honest, all parties have issues when it comes to LGBT rights. We should all try to make sure that we do much better.

As the Minister said, coming out is not a one-off event. I was fortunate enough that when I was at school, I never got bullied—my friend James might have punched anyone if they had taken issue with it.