# LGBT+ Conservatives

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 :
vte :
LGBT+ Conservatives is an organisation for LGBT conservatism in the United Kingdom. It is the official LGBT wing of the Conservative Party. The current advocacy group can trace its roots back to the Conservative Group for Homosexual Equality which was later renamed the Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality. The group was eventually disbanded and the new LGBTory group was formed, changing its name in 2016 to LGBT+ Conservatives.
The group campaigns for LGBT rights alongside the main political beliefs and policies of the Conservative Party, which it promotes within the Party, LGBT community, and wider public. Besides this LGBT+ Conservatives campaigns for LGBT candidates, including through its Candidates' Fund and attends Pride events across the country. It also organises events related to LGBT rights including an annual event with Stonewall at Conservative Party Conference. Since its early formation, the organisation has had an impact nationally, within Europe and globally becoming the model and inspiration for LGBTory and alike groups in Australia and Canada.

## Activity

LGBT+ Conservatives has been present at social meet ups, meals and drinks and Pride events across the country. LGBT+ Conservatives host many fundraising events across the UK, and Parliamentary receptions in The Palace of Westminster for members of both the House of Lords and House of Commons.

### 2010s

In 2016, LGBT+ Conservatives' officers also represented the organisation at the then-Prime Minister Theresa May's LGBT Downing Street garden reception. After the 2017 general election, the group's then-chair Matthew Green was critical of the Democratic Unionist Party, describing the DUP's record on LGBT issues as "appalling". This followed May's announcement that she intended to form a minority government with the DUP. As a result of the hung Parliament arising from the election, May's Conservatives did not have an overall majority, so were reliant on DUP support to govern. The Conservative-DUP agreement was finalised several weeks later, and lasted until Parliament was dissolved in November 2019.
In 2018, the official LGBT+ Conservative account posted a tweet denouncing the views of Conservative MP David Davies on trans people. It later apologised for the tone of the tweet.

### 2020s

In 2021, the Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson's wife Carrie Johnson spoke at the group's yearly Pride Reception in a rare public intervention. Described by Chairwoman Elena Bunbury as a "longstanding ally" and "a good sport to LGBT+ Conservatives", Mrs Johnson's speech was widely reported in both UK and international press. This was the first intervention at a party conference by the spouse of a Prime Minister since Gordon Brown's wife Sarah Brown spoke at the Labour party conference. Mrs Johnson told a 100-strong audience including the Prime Minister Boris, his sister Rachel Johnson, his father Stanley Johnson and the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, that the Prime Minister was committed to LGBT rights.
In 2023, the group celebrated ten years since the passing of the Conservative Party's Same-Sex Marriage Act, by hosting a drinks reception with former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron who has cited it several times as one of his proudest achievements in office. The event was also attended by Baroness Stowell, who was the Leader of the House of Lords at the time and responsible for seeing the Same-Sex Marriage Act's passage through the House of Lords. Famed for opening the debate with a joke about her love for George Clooney, Baroness Stowell is cited by many within the LGBT+ Conservatives as a key force behind getting the bill through the House of Lords.
In 2023, the group partnered with a UK media company, Tiny White Fox, to develop a new weekly podcast on LGBT+ current affairs called Never Kissed A Tory hosted by Joe Wilmot, Albie Amankona and Luke Robert Black. The podcast also hosts Conservative MPs, AMs and Peers, including Emma Best AM, Andrew Boff AM, Maria Caulfield MP, Susan Hall AM and Alicia Kearns MP.
In December 2023, the group hosted its first ever reception at 10 Downing Street in which the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended and met with its members. In the reception, the organisation celebrated the success of its joint campaign with the Terrence Higgins Trust to expand HIV Opt-Out testing in English A&Es, which was announced the previous month by the Conservative Health Secretary Victoria Atkins at a parliamentary reception with Sir Elton John.

## Fund

LGBT+ Conservatives group disburse campaign funds in support of LGBT+ candidates.

## Chairpersonship

* 2007–2008: Anastasia Beaumont–Bott
* 2008–2009: Edward Butler–Ellis
* 2009–2013: Matthew Sephton
* 2013–2017: Colm Howard–Lloyd
* 2017–2018: Matthew Green - Resigned 14 May 2018
* 2018–2019: John Cope
* 2019–2020: Colm Howard-Lloyd
* 2020–2023: Elena Bunbury
* 2023-present: Luke Robert Black

## Patrons

LGBT+ Conservatives patrons in the House of Commons:
* Rt. Hon. Stuart Andrew MP
* Dehenna Davison MP
* Sir Michael Fabricant MP
* Paul Holmes MP
* Kieran Mullan MP
* Crispin Blunt MP
* Peter Gibson MP
* Nigel Evans MP
* Mike Freer MP
* Iain Stewart MP
* Gary Sambrook MP
* William Wragg MP
* Rt Hon. David Mundell MP
* Elliot Colburn MP
* Mark Fletcher MP
* Daniel Kawczynski MP
LGBT+ Conservatives patrons in the House of Lords:
* Lord Black of Brentwood
* Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links
* Lord Duncan of Springbank
* Lord Hayward
* Lord Barker of Battle
* Lord Herbert of South Downs
LGBT+ Conservatives patrons in Holyrood:
* Annie Wells MSP
* Jamie Green MSP
LGBT+ Conservatives patrons in the London Assembly:
* Andrew Boff AM
* Emma Best AM
* Nick Rodgers AM
LGBT+ Conservatives patrons who are regional metro mayors:
* Andy Street

## Awards

The LGBT+ Conservatives started giving out awards to UK parliamentarians and LGBT+ Conservatives' Executive and council members in 2022.
Prospective candidates for an award are shortlisted by the LGBT+ Conservatives' Executive. Once shortlisted, the members of the LGBT+ Conservatives vote for their preferred winner.
Traditionally, the Awards are announced at the Pride Reception, which the LGBT+ Conservatives has held jointly with the UK LGBT charity Stonewall at Conservative Party Conference.
| Year | Patron of the Year | Ally of the Year | Council Member of the Year |
| 2022 | Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links | Penny Mordaunt MP | Luke Robert Black |
| 2023 | Stuart Andrew MP | Penny Mordaunt MP | Albie Amankona |
| 2024 | To be confirmed | To be confirmed | To be confirmed |