Pride Month

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

I am really grateful that the right hon. Gentleman has raised that point, and it is good that it is a point of agreement across the whole House. There was a time when large numbers of people in this House would have thought that having gay men, lesbians or trans people in the armed forces was anathema, and I am so glad that we have changed. The shields on the wall up there are dedicated to Members of Parliament who were killed in the second world war, and at least five, if not six, of them were gay men who gave their lives in defence of this country. Bravery is available to people regardless of their sexuality or their identity. The right hon. Gentleman is also absolutely right to refer to Terence. His report was an essential part of changing the landscape in this country and making sure that compensation was available to the individuals who were affected.

We should acknowledge the fundamental truth that trans people have always been at the forefront of our movement. From Marsha P. Johnson in New York to Mark Ashton here in the UK, trans people and gender non-conforming people have led protests, shaped policy and built community, often with little recognition or safety in return. At Stonewall, at section 28 protests, in the founding of support services and HIV charities, and at the heart of every movement that pushed us forward, trans people were there and they led. We owe them a debt of gratitude, so to treat them now as a threat to the very movement they helped build is wrong. We will not forget their role, and we will not leave them behind. Trans people deserve safety, dignity and the same freedom to live their lives as anyone else, and under this Government they will have it.

On 29 August 1924, Edward Carpenter had his 80th birthday. He had famously campaigned for our rights and lived with his lover, George Merrill. Indeed, he was probably the model for E. M. Forster’s novel “Maurice”, which I think was published only after E. M. Forster’s death. Carpenter was a brave campaigner at a time when it was impossible to be brave. Men were still being imprisoned with hard labour for homosexuality in 1924, when he came to his 80th birthday, so it was a phenomenal act of bravery when every single member of the Labour Cabinet—there was a Labour Government in 1924—signed a letter to Carpenter wishing him a happy birthday.

That kind of magnanimity should be the hallmark of our politics today. We are not yet the country that we could be, but in all we do in our hospitals and our schools, in our laws and our language, in our foreign policy and our public services, this Government will uphold one principle: a little respect for all. Let that be the legacy of this House.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Chris Bryant]

I have finished.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; happy Pride Month to you, the whole House, my North Cornwall constituency and, indeed, the whole country.

Pride Month is a celebration, but it is also a protest and a call to action—a reminder that the hard-fought rights we won must be defended and that the injustices still endured by many must be tackled, both here and abroad. We have already heard that around 64 countries still criminalise LGBTQ+ plus citizens. As a Liberal Democrat, I am extremely proud to belong to a party that has been at the forefront of the fight for LGBTQ+ equality for decades. My right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) moved the amendment that repealed the appalling section 28 in 2003, and the Liberal Democrats introduced same-sex marriage while in government, which enabled me and thousands of others to get married on the same basis as everyone else.

But today we face a new wave of hostility, aimed particularly, it seems, at the trans community, which I will come back to. First, I want to focus on one group that is often overlooked: LGBTQ+ veterans. I have been supporting campaigners fighting for recognition, justice and dignity for those who were dismissed from our armed forces simply for being who they are. One of them, Adrian Radford-Shute, lives in my North Cornwall constituency. He was forced out of the Intelligence Corps in 1996 because of his sexuality, and he suffered horrific physical and sexual abuse. The trauma of that experience still lives with him and thousands of others—severe post-traumatic stress disorder and a lifetime of silence, without the recognition of the huge sacrifices that they made for this country.

Adrian and others campaigned relentlessly, and finally, in December, the Government launched the LGBT veterans financial recognition scheme, finally offering some redress to those who are dismissed under the ban. Some, if not most, of those veterans also faced the most horrific cases of rape, abuse and other forms of unforgivable violence and coercion. Few were believed, and many were told that it was their own fault. I fought hard alongside Adrian to ensure that no veteran was left behind, regardless of rank or the circumstances of their dismissal.

After direct engagement with the Ministry of Defence, I was assured that officers forced to resign would be treated equally to those administratively discharged, but the progress in reviewing cases has been abysmally slow. Of around 1,300 applications to the scheme, just 24 have been paid out. At this snail’s pace, it will take up to 17 years for all those brave veterans to finally receive their compensation and their closure. This is a national scandal. While other military compensation schemes quite rightly award up to £650,000, the LGBTQ+ veterans compensation scheme is capped at just 10% of that. As a country we are currently asking ourselves how we can attract more recruits to our armed forces, but we do not treat our veterans with the dignity and respect they deserve. In this Armed Forces Week, I urge the Government to take action immediately to speed up these payments.

Today, two thirds of LGBTQ+ people in the UK still report experiencing abuse or violence because of their sexuality or identity. Trans people in particular face constant attacks. Just a few weeks ago, I witnessed a vile incident with abuse hurled at a trans person walking down a high street in my North Cornwall constituency. In 2023, a Home Office report found that comments by politicians and the media over the previous year could have led to a huge spike in such offences. That brings shame on this House and our entire country.

[Ms Creasy]

The hon. Gentleman makes an incredibly powerful and important point. One word we have not yet used in this debate is allyship. One challenge is that too often it falls on to the shoulders of our LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers to fight these fights because those of us who would consider ourselves allies maybe have not been as vocal as we have needed to be. Let all of us pledge, allies alike, to join the fight to make sure we live in a country where everybody can be who they want to be without fear.

[Ben Maguire]

I warmly welcome the hon. Lady’s offer of being an ally, and I agree that it is so important to the LGBTQ+ community to have that alliance.

As well as politicians, public figures desperate for attention and relevance such as J. K. Rowling have poisoned the public discourse with attacks on our trans community, all under the false dichotomy that it is not possible to be a true feminist and protect women’s rights without attacking and abusing the trans community, a phoney culture war which has left trans people fearful just to be themselves. The tone of this debate has been so un-British. It is much more like the US, where everything is dealt with in extreme absolutes: black and white; right and wrong; no compromise; no respect or compassion for one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. It is horrible to see how hate has been weaponised for political gain.

I know how it feels to think of yourself as broken, to feel like society will never accept you, and to feel ashamed to admit to friends and family who you really are, and that things might be better if you just did not exist at all. Surely in 2025 we can do so much better and make sure that trans people are seen and valued for who they truly are.

To conclude, I urge the Minister to provide this House with an update on what steps he is taking to reassure the trans community that it will continue to receive protections and safe spaces following the Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance, which has left many trans people confused and anxious. When will this Government ban conversion therapy in full? We have heard it from the Minister again, but no specific timetable has been given for both sexuality and gender.