LGBT+ History Month

Perran Moon Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Olivia Bailey]

I absolutely do agree. I thank my hon. Friend for sharing that with us, and I congratulate Graham and Vinny on all their work.

There has been a consistent theme in the contributions this afternoon: the stories that many Members have told of the fear, shame and anxiety being felt by many of their LGBT+ constituents, particularly their trans constituents. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) made a powerful speech on the cost of being yourself and the importance of listening to young trans people. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) made an important speech about the political weaponisation of our identities, with some people saying that families like mine are less stable. Such stories are painful to hear, and I want to say very clearly that I recognise the fear and anxiety that LGBT+ people are feeling at the moment. I feel it too, but this Government will always stand with LGBT+ people against the politics of division and hate, and we will protect and extend LGBT+ rights.

We heard a wide range of other contributions this afternoon. A number of colleagues mentioned the EHRC guidance and asked for an update on timings. The Government are considering this issue very carefully and will bring forward an update as soon as we are able to do so. My hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, who has been a powerful campaigner, talked about the Government’s proud commitment to address the issue of hate crime; I am looking forward to the Government equalising the hate crime laws in the House of Lords.

My hon. Friend the Member for Clapham and Brixton Hill (Bell Ribeiro-Addy) gave a powerful speech on the damage done by conversion practices. Let me be clear: they are a form of abuse, and this Government will ban them. On the timelines, I am working on the legislation with the urgency that every Member of this House expects of me, and will bring it forward as soon as possible.

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

Will the Minister take this opportunity to congratulate the hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne), who took a very delicate and sensitive report on abusive conversion practices through the Council of Europe two weeks ago and managed to receive support from pretty much all Members from across the Chamber, with the exception of the hard right? She did it with such sensitivity and skill, and perhaps this is an opportunity to thank her for that.

[Olivia Bailey]

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me that opportunity. I have congratulated my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East on her important work on this vital topic, and I do so again on the record.

I also take this opportunity to thank my hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith)—I have been in trouble on my pronunciation of her constituency before—for her phenomenal work as my predecessor in this role. She rightly challenged me to make the most of the European IDAHOT conference that we will host next year, and I would like to take that challenge from her and say that we will absolutely commit to doing so. I will say some more about that in a moment.

On days like today I am reminded of the consequence of this place. As we have heard, it was hon. Members like us in this very Chamber who decriminalised homosexuality, scrapped section 28 and legalised equal marriage, but it was also here in this Chamber that those laws were first made. For me, that is an important reminder of the fragility of our progress and the importance of our role. In this place, we must never forget how important it is to make the case for our rights, and hon. Members have done that brilliantly today.

I am very proud to be a member of the gayest Parliament ever and to be a member of a Government who will advance LGBT+ rights. We have righted the historical wrongs committed against LGBT veterans, funded LGBT+ violence against women and girls services and pledged to end HIV transmissions by 2030. This morning, I visited the fantastic 56 Dean Street, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster, to take an HIV test myself to mark National HIV Testing Week. I thank the staff at 56 Dean Street for their fantastic work, and I urge all hon. Members to encourage their constituents to go online and get a free HIV test this week.

While I am proud of the things we have done, I am most proud of the things that we will do, including fulfilling our manifesto commitment to equalise hate crime laws, bringing forward our trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices and supporting LGBT+ rights on the world stage. We are funding global LGBT+ partnerships, and we will be proudly hosting the 2027 European IDAHOT forum, taking our place on the world stage in the fight for LGBT+ equality. I am looking forward to doing all this in partnership with those in our wonderful LGBT+ sector, whom I was delighted to invite to Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister the other week.

In LGBT History Month, we are encouraged to remember the iconic trailblazers who fought for our rights such as Mark Ashton, Maureen Colquhoun, Chris Smith, Roberta Cowell, the Tower Hamlets Lesbian and Gay Group and the others we have heard about today. I also think it is important that we remember the people who did not make it into the history books, because our history is one of everyday resistance and courage—people choosing to link hands in the street, people choosing to stand up for their community and people choosing pride over shame. I think it is important that we remember that everything we do in this place is built on that courage, and that courage is needed now more than ever.