# List of the first openly LGBTQ holders of political offices in the United Kingdom

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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The following is a list of the first openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender individuals to serve in selected political offices in the United Kingdom.

## Party leaderships

* 2008, First out male Leader of a political party in Scotland
** Patrick Harvie, Scottish Greens, MSP 2003–present
* 2011, First out female Leader of a political party in Scotland
** Ruth Davidson, Scottish Conservatives, MSP 2011–2019
* 2018, First out male leader of a political party in Wales
** Adam Price, Plaid Cymru, AM/MS 2016–present
* 2020, First black, bisexual leader of a political party in the United Kingdom
** Mandu Reid, Women's Equality Party, since 2020

## UK Cabinet

* 1997, First male Cabinet minister to be out before being appointed
** Chris Smith, Labour, MP 1983–2005
* 2016, First male Cabinet minister to come out in office
** David Mundell, Conservative, MP 2005–present
* 2016, First female Cabinet minister to come out in office
** Justine Greening, Conservative, MP 2005–2019

## British Parliament
### House of Commons

* 1597, First known LGBTQ+ Member of Parliament
** Anthony Bacon, Independent, elected as MP for Wallingford in 1593
* 1976, First outed (female) MP
** Maureen Colquhoun, Labour, MP 1974–1979
* 1984, First MP to come out in office
** Chris Smith, Labour, MP 1983–2005
* May 1997, First MPs to be out before being elected
** Stephen Twigg, Labour, MP 1997–2005, 2010–2019
** Ben Bradshaw, Labour, MP 1997–2024
* Sep 1997, First female MP to come out in office
** Angela Eagle, Labour, MP 1992–Present
* June 2001, First out Plaid Cymru MP
** Adam Price, Plaid Cymru, MP 2001–2010
* 2002, First Conservative MP to come out
** Alan Duncan, Conservative, MP 1992–2019
* Jan 2005, First MP to come out as HIV positive
** Chris Smith, Labour, MP 1983–2005
* May 2005, First out Liberal Democrat MP
** Stephen Williams, Liberal Democrats, MP 2005–2015
* May 2005, First Conservative MP to be out before being elected
** Nick Herbert, Conservative, MP 2005–2019
* Jan 2006, First MP to be outed as bisexual
** Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat, MP 1983–2015
* May 2006, First MP to enter into a civil partnership
** David Borrow, Labour, MP 1997–2010
* 2008, First female MP to enter into a civil partnership
** Angela Eagle, Labour, MP 1992–present
* 2010, First female MP to be out before being elected, and first out Conservative female MP
** Margot James, Conservative, MP 2010–2019
* December 2010, First out Deputy Speaker
** Nigel Evans, First Chairman of Ways and Means 2010–2013, Second Chairman of Ways and Means 2020–2024
* 2013, First MP to voluntarily come out as bisexual
** Daniel Kawczynski, Conservative, MP 2005–2024
* 2015, First MP to be out as bisexual before being elected; First female MP to be out as bisexual
** Cat Smith, Labour, MP 2015–present
* 2020, First MP to come out as pansexual
** Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat, MP 2017–present
* 2021, First female Conservative MP to be openly bisexual
** Dehenna Davison, Conservative, MP 2019–2024
* 2022, First MP to come out as transgender
** Jamie Wallis, Conservative, MP 2019–2024
* 2024, First bisexual party leader in Westminster
** Carla Denyer, Greens, MP 2024-present

### House of Lords

* First out Peer
** Lord Alli, Labour, 1998–present
* First out female Peer
** Deborah Stedman-Scott, Baroness Stedman-Scott, Conservative, 2010–present

## European Parliament

* Jan 1999, First out UK MEP
** Tom Spencer, Conservative, MEP 1979–1984, 1989–1999
* Jun 1999, First UK MEP to be out before office
** Michael Cashman, Labour, MEP 1999–2014
* 2013, First openly transgender UK MEP
** Nikki Sinclaire, UK Independence Party (later Independent), MEP 2009–2014
* 2019, First gay and black UK MEP
** Louis Stedman-Bryce, Brexit Party (later Independent), MEP 2019–2020

## Scottish Parliament

* First out MSP
** Iain Smith, Scottish Liberal Democrats, MSP 1999–2011
* 2003, First out Female MSP
** Margaret Smith, Scottish Liberal Democrats, 1999–2011
* 2003, First out Scottish Green MSP
** Patrick Harvie, Scottish Green Party, MSP 2003–present
* 2007, First out SNP MSP
** Joe FitzPatrick, Scottish National Party, MSP 2007–present
* 2011, First out Scottish Conservative MSP
** Ruth Davidson, Scottish Conservative Party, MSP 2011–present
* 2016, First out Scottish Labour MSP
** Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Labour Party, MSP 2011–present

### Scottish Government

* 1999, First out minister
** Iain Smith, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Deputy Minister for Parliament
* 2016, First out Cabinet minister
** Derek Mackay, Scottish National Party, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution
* 2016, First out female minister
** Jeane Freeman, Scottish National Party, Minister for Social Security

## Senedd

* First out AM,
** Ron Davies, Labour, 1999–2003
* First out cabinet secretary to be appointed
** Jeremy Miles, Labour, 2017–present
* First out minister to be appointed
** Hannah Blythyn, Labour, 2017–present

## Northern Ireland Assembly

* First out MLA
** John Blair, Alliance, 2018–present
* First out Executive minister to be appointed
** Andrew Muir, Alliance, 2024–present

## Police and crime commissioner

* First out PCC
** Olly Martins, Labour, 2012–2016

## Directly elected mayors

* First out directly elected executive mayor
** Mike Wolfe, Mayor4Stoke, 2002–2005
* First out directly elected metropolitan mayor
** Paul Dennett, Labour, 2016–present
* First out directly elected London borough mayor
** Philip Glanville, Labour, 2016–2023

## Municipal offices
### England
#### Bolton

* Horwich Town Council: First open lesbian as mayor (2013–2014) civil partner mayoress: Christine A. Root

#### Brighton & Hove City Council

* First out committee chair and group leader Paul Elgood (1999–2012)

#### Bristol

* First out Trans councillor and first to transition while holding elected public office: Rosalind Mitchell (1997)

#### Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

* First trans mayor: Jenny Bailey (2007–2008)

#### Camden

* First openly gay Mayor and Mayoress (2010–2011): Jonathan Simpson and Amy Lamé

#### Croydon

* First openly gay Mayor, Wayne Trakas-Lawlor with his husband as Consort(2016-2017):

#### Durham

* First openly gay councillor in the UK and first known openly gay candidate for UK elected office: Sam Green (1972)

#### Essex – Epping Forest District Council

* Gavin Chambers (2012–present), mayor of the parish council (2012–2013)

#### Hackney

* First openly gay directly elected mayor: Philip Glanville (2016–present)

#### Islington

* Mayor: Robert Crossman (1986)

#### Kingston upon Hull

* Lord Mayor: Colin Inglis (elected 2011) Council Leader 2003–2005, Police Authority Chair 2000–2005

#### Liverpool

* First openly gay Lord Mayor: Gary Millar (2013–2014)

#### Manchester

* First openly gay Lord Mayor: Carl Austin-Behan (2016–2017)

#### Salford

* First openly gay Mayor: Paul Dennett

#### Sheffield

* First openly gay Leader of the Council: Paul Scriven (2008–2011)

#### Trafford

* First openly gay leader of the council: Sean Anstee (2014–2018)

#### Haslemere, Surrey

* First openly gay deputy mayor: Sahran Abeysundara (elected 2015)
* First openly gay mayor: Sahran Abeysundara (elected 2016)

#### London
##### Greater London Authority

* First members of the London Assembly: Brian Coleman, Andrew Boff and Richard Barnes – Conservative and Darren Johnson – Green Party (elected 2000)
* First openly gay deputy mayor: Richard Barnes (appointed 2008)

##### Southwark

* First openly gay mayor: Jeff Hook:

##### Camden

* First openly gay mayor: Jonathan Simpson (elected 2010)

##### Richmond

* Mayor: Marc Cranfield-Adams (2007)

### Wales
#### Aberystwyth, Ceredigion

* First openly lesbian mayor, with her partner as mayoress: Jaci Taylor (2000–2001), Plaid Cymru.
Rhondda Cynon Taf
* First openly gay cabinet member Layton Percy Jones (Plaid Cymru). Cabinet Member for Social Services 1999–2005

#### Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire

* First openly gay mayor, first mayor in a civil partnership: Guy Woodham (2012–2013)
* First openly gay mayor and deputy mayor: William Elliott (mayor) and Colin Sharp (deputy mayor)

#### Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent

* First openly bisexual chairman of council, Julian Meek (2012–2013), Plaid Cymru.

#### Bangor, Gwynedd

* The world's first non-binary Mayor and Wales' youngest ever Mayor, Owen Hurcum (2021–2022), Independent