LGBT+ Labour

LGBT+ Labour
Co-leaders	Joe Dharampal-Hornby Lily Soaper
Secretary	David Bridson
Treasury	Bruno Dent
Founded	1975
Headquarters	LGBT+ Labour, PO Box 77753, London, E3 9FN
National affiliation	Labour Party
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists (Rainbow Rose)
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance
Website
www.lgbtlabour.org.uk

LGBT+ Labour is the socialist society^[1] officially representing the LGBTQ wing of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the organisation is to campaign within the Labour Party, and the wider Labour movement to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) people, and to encourage members of the LGBT community to support the Labour Party.

LGBT+ Labour is the successor to the Gay Labour Group. Sometimes referred to as the Gay Labour Caucus, it was set up in 1975 and one of the group's first banners is currently displayed at the People's History Museum^[2] in Manchester.^[3] In 1978, the name was changed, first to the Labour Campaign for Gay Rights, and later to the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights.^[4]

In 2002, the Campaign became a socialist society and thus affiliated to the Labour Party.^[5] As a socialist society, the organisation has the right to submit motions and send a delegate to the Labour Party Conference, participate in Party structures including electing three members of the National Policy Forum and a representative to the National Executive Committee (NEC). Since 2012, LGBT Labour has been entitled to directly elect a representative to the National Policy Forum in its own right. Members who are not full members of the Labour Party are able to vote in some party elections alongside other socialist societies members by registering as an affiliated supporter.^[6]

In 2006, the society also published Peter Purton's book Sodom, Gomorrah and the New Jerusalem: Labour and Lesbian and Gay Rights from Edward Carpenter to today which documented the lobbying, campaigning and alliance building which led to the legal reforms of 1997.^[7]

In July 2024, a fresh grassroots movement known as Pride in Labour was founded as an alternative, and criticised LGBT+ Labour for being "chronically silent" following the announcement from Health Secretary Wes Streeting who said the Labour Party (UK) would maintain the ban on puberty blockers being prescribed to children.^[8][9]

Membership is mostly made up of members of the Labour Party and trade unionists. Membership is also open to non-members of the Labour Party, as long as they are not members of another political party.^[10]

LGBT+ Labour is run by an elected national committee which is elected every year at its yearly general meeting.^[11] LGBT+ Labour also has a number of regional groups to carry out its work in those areas, which have their own smaller committees to run them, also democratically elected. LGBT Labour has no staff members and all committee members are volunteers.

The LGBT+ Labour AGM also agrees its policy positions as well as identifying the work programme for the National Committee.

There are regional groups for the North West, London and the South East, West Midlands, Yorkshire & the Humber, East Midlands and the South West. Convenors are elected to run the Scottish and Welsh campaigns. The small committees for the regional groups are elected at their own local AGMs. These groups carry out LGBT+ Labour's work on a local basis and also campaign on local issues.^[12]

For the 2010 general election, LGBT Labour established a campaign fund called Dorothy's List to support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans candidates Labour parliamentary candidates. This fund continues for other elections and has since been renamed The Chris Smith List (after Chris Smith the first British MP to come out as gay whilst in office in 1984^[13]) for which an annual fundraising dinner is held.^[14] The campaign fund draws its inspiration from Emily's List in the US.

An initial fundraising target of £2,000 was set, later raised to £5,000. The final fund was in excess of £12,000^[15] and the money was distributed amongst 28 LGBT parliamentary candidates with money being focused on candidates in marginal seats. There was also extra money provided to support women candidates, acknowledging all political parties have shortage of representation of lesbian and bisexual women.^{[16][failed verification]}

The Chris Smith List continues and was used for the 2015 general election.^[17] A total of £25,000 was raised for the 2015 general election with money being distributed to 27 out of 36 LGBT Labour Party candidates – money was not provided to the nine sitting out Labour MPs.^[18]

LGBT Labour produced an LGBT manifesto for the 2010 general election with the Labour Party launching the document in Soho with the party's Deputy leader Harriet Harman and the-then Foreign Secretary, David Miliband.^[19]

An LGBT manifesto was also produced, jointly with the Labour Party, for the 2015 general election.^[20] This was launched in Brighton by Angela Eagle and Amy Lame shortly after the main Labour manifesto,^[21] which was subsequently endorsed by Ian McKellen.^[22] For the snap 2017 general election, a series of policy proposals were published and LGBT Labour worked with the Party front bench and NEC to ensure that there was a number of pledges in the Party's manifesto.

A leaflet campaign was also run targeting gay bars across the country in 2010 as well as a campaigning in key seats; especially those with gay and lesbian MPs. Since 2010, this format has continued with campaigning for gay candidates in council elections and the European elections. A programme of election campaigning was carried out for the 2015 general election, with both local campaign days and phone banks.

During the 2010 Labour leadership election LGBT Labour decided not to endorse any candidate but use the opportunity to lobby all candidates on LGBT issues, a process that had previously been used during the deputy labour leadership election in 2007. This was a process repeated in the 2015 leadership and deputy leadership elections.^[23] A series of questions were sent to all candidates asked by LGBT Labour members and readers of PinkNews.^[24] During the leadership campaign LGBT Labour received promises on a number of LGBT issues most notably on support for gay marriage.^[25]

During the 2020 leadership election, Keir Starmer, then a leadership candidate, endorsed 10-point pledge from the group over a more contentious 12-point programme from the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights.^[26]

LGBT+ Labour has been able, working with unions and constituency Labour parties, to ensure included a number of motions were carried at the Labour Party Conference. The most recent of these as of 2005^[update] was a Contemporary resolution at the 2005 Party Conference on the inclusion of sexual orientation in the protections against discrimination in goods, facilities and services in the Equality Bill then going through Parliament (later to become the Equality Act 2006).^{[27][failed verification]}

In 2008 LGBT+ Labour submitted^{[failed verification]} a rule change to add gender identity to the discrimination policies of the Labour Party rule book. It was carried by 98.43%^[28]

In 2013, LGBT+ Labour supported the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Despite being put forward by the Cameron–Clegg coalition, more than half of the conservative government voted against it. The Labour Party vote carried the act into law.^[29]

LGBT+ Labour members of parliament have helped to fight against HIV stigma, with Lloyd Russell-Moyle revealing his HIV status in the House of Commons.^[30]

LGBT Labour attend Prides every summer including London, Brighton and Manchester Prides, where they commonly use the slogan "Never kissed a Tory".^[31] During the year regular events are held from fundraisers to social nights.

LGBT+ Labour is also active at the annual Labour Party conference every autumn with a stall in the conference exhibition area. They hold a Saturday night social at the start of Labour conference every year,^[32] originally launched in 2006 under the name 'The Only Party in the Village',^[33] and an annual fringe meeting with Stonewall.

Part of a series on
LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom
By location
United Kingdom Scotland Northern Ireland
Crown dependencies Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man
Overseas Territories Anguilla Akrotiri and Dhekelia Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Turks and Caicos Islands
Same-sex marriage by territory United Kingdom Scotland Northern Ireland Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Akrotiri and Dhekelia Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Policy aspects
Sexual orientation Adoption Age of consent Blood donation Christian nation Civil partnership History of violence HIV/AIDS Military policy Same-sex marriage
Gender identity, sex and intersex 21st-century anti-trans movement Transgender rights Intersex rights NHS Gender Identity Development Service Gender Recognition Panel
Legislation
Criminality Buggery Act 1533 Offences Against the Person Act 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 Labouchere Amendment Wolfenden report Sexual Offences Act 1967 Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 Homosexual Offences Order 1982 Section 28 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 Sexual Offences Act 2003 Policing and Crime Act 2017 Alan Turing law Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017 Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Act 2018
Protection and recognition Public Order Act 1986 Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 Adoption and Children Act 2002 Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 Civil Partnership Act 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 Equality Act 2006 Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 Equality Act 2010 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019
Litigation Corbett v Corbett (1969) X v United Kingdom (1978) Dudgeon v United Kingdom (1981) R v Brown (1993) Sutherland v United Kingdom (1994) Smith and Grady v United Kingdom (1999) Goodwin & I v United Kingdom (2002) HJ and HT v Home Secretary (2010) National AIDS Trust v NHS Service Commissioning Board (2016) Bell v Tavistock (2021) AB v CD and others (2021)
Culture
By city Brighton Cardiff London Liverpool Leeds Manchester
Gay villages Birmingham Gay Village The Calls Canal Street (Manchester) Old Compton Street Pride Quarter, Liverpool Vauxhall
Gay male Polari Saunas Cruising
Organisations
LGBT advocacy and support Stonewall Hall–Carpenter Archives Black Gay Men's Advisory Group Akt Naz and Matt Foundation FFLAG LGBT Foundation LGBT Network Outright Scotland Switchboard (UK) NUS LGBT LGBT+ Liberal Democrats LGBT+ Conservatives LGBT+ Labour Labour Campaign for Trans Rights Mermaids Press for Change The Gender Trust
Pride events BiCon (UK) Big Gay Out Birmingham Pride Bourne Free Brighton Pride Bristol Pride Doncaster Pride GFest – gayWise LGBT Arts Festival Glasgay! Festival Homotopia (Liverpool) Leeds Pride Leicester Pride LGBT History Month BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival Manchester Pride Mr Gay UK Mr Gay Wales Northern Pride Nottinghamshire Pride Pride Cymru Pride Glasgow Pride in Hull Pride in Liverpool Pride in London Pride Scotia Reading Pride Swansea Pride Worthing Pride
Former groups OutRage! Campaign for Homosexual Equality Homosexual Law Reform Society Gay Liberation Front Gay Rights Working Party Order of Chaeronea
History
Topics Timeline List of politicians First LGBT officeholders Violence against LGBT people HIV/AIDS crisis Death penalty
Timeline 342 MSM activity made illegal 1533 Death penalty introduced for MSM activity 1543 Buggery Act extended to Wales 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1828 1835 James Pratt and John Smith executed 1861 Death penalty for buggery abolished 1885 Labouchere Amendment introduced 1889 Cleveland Street scandal 1895 Oscar Wilde found guilty of gross indecency 1912 The Cave of the Golden Calf opens 1921 Plans to make lesbian activity illegal defeated 1936 Mark Weston transitions 1952 John Nott-Bower begins crackdown 1954 Pitt-Rivers, Montagu, Wildeblood imprisoned 1954 Alan Turing commits suicide 1957 Wolfenden report released 1967 MSM activity made legal (England & Wales) 1972 First British Gay Pride Rally 1976 Jeremy Thorpe resigns as Liberal leader 1981 MSM activity made legal (Scotland) 1981 First case of AIDS reported in the UK 1982 MSM activity made legal (NI) 1983 Gay men barred from donating blood 1984 Chris Smith elected as first openly gay MP 1987 Operation Spanner begins 1988 Section 28 comes into force 1989 Stonewall UK forms 1994 Age of consent for MSM becomes 18 1997 Angela Eagle becomes first openly lesbian MP 1998 Bolton 7 found guilty 1998 Lord Alli becomes first openly gay Lord 1999 Admiral Duncan bombing 2000 Gay men allowed in HM Armed Forces 2001 Age of consent equalised to 16 2001 MSM activity involving multiple men legal 2002 Same sex couples granted equal rights to adopt 2003 Section 28 repealed 2004 Civil partnerships introduced 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 2006 Discrimination made illegal 2008 Equalised access to IVF for lesbian couples 2008 Incitement to homophobic hatred made a crime 2009 Public apology to Alan Turing 2010 Equality Act 2010 2011 Gay men allowed to donate blood (1 yr deferral) 2013 Nikki Sinclaire becomes first openly trans MEP 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 2014 First same-sex marriages take place 2016 MSM activity not grounds for military discharge 2017 Turing law implemented 2017 Blood donation deferral 3 months (excl. NI) 2019 MPs legislate for gay marriage in NI 2020 Gay marriage legal across UK, incl. NI 2020 Blood donation deferral 3 months (incl. NI) 2021 Blood donation deferral equalised
LGBTQ portal UK portal
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LGBT+ Labour invites out LGBT politicians from the British Parliament, devolved legislatures and directly elected mayors to act as patrons of the campaign.^[34] The current patrons are:

LGBT+ Labour also works with the wider Labour movement and accepts affiliations from trades unions, co-ops, local Labour parties, university Labour groups and local trades union branches.

LGBT+ Labour is affiliated to Rainbow Rose^[35] the LGBT group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats which brings to the LGBT groups of the centre-left parties in European Union countries. They are also affiliated to ILGA-Europe.^[36]

• Labour for Trans Rights
• LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
• LGBT+ Conservatives
• LGBT+ Liberal Democrats
• Socialism and LGBT rights