# LGBT+ Labour

LGBT+ Labour is the socialist society 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.

## History

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 in Manchester. 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.
In 2002, the Campaign became a socialist society and thus affiliated to the Labour Party. 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.
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.
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.

## Organisation

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.
LGBT+ Labour is run by an elected national committee which is elected every year at its yearly general meeting. 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.

## Elections & The Chris Smith List

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) for which an annual fundraising dinner is held. 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 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.
The Chris Smith List continues and was used for the 2015 general election. 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.
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.
An LGBT manifesto was also produced, jointly with the Labour Party, for the 2015 general election. This was launched in Brighton by Angela Eagle and Amy Lame shortly after the main Labour manifesto, which was subsequently endorsed by Ian McKellen. 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.

## Labour leadership elections

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. A series of questions were sent to all candidates asked by LGBT Labour members and readers of PinkNews. During the leadership campaign LGBT Labour received promises on a number of LGBT issues most notably on support for gay marriage.
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.

## Significant achievements

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 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).
In 2008 LGBT+ Labour submitted a rule change to add gender identity to the discrimination policies of the Labour Party rule book. It was carried by 98.43%
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.
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.

## Events

LGBT Labour attend Prides every summer including London, Brighton and Manchester Prides. 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, originally launched in 2006 under the name 'The Only Party in the Village', and an annual fringe meeting with Stonewall.

## Patrons

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+ Labour invites out LGBT politicians from the British Parliament, devolved legislatures and directly elected mayors to act as patrons of the campaign. The current patrons are:

### Current Patrons
#### House of Commons

* Dan Aldridge MP
* James Asser MP
* Olivia Bailey MP
* Antonia Bance MP
* Danny Beales MP
* Clive Betts MP
* Polly Billington MP
* Olivia Blake MP
* Sir Chris Bryant MP
* David Burton-Sampson MP
* Dan Carden MP
* Sam Carling MP
* Ben Coleman MP
* Deirdre Costigan MP
* Ashley Dalton MP
* Stephen Doughty MP
* Dame Angela Eagle MP
* Damien Egan MP
* Alan Gemmell OBE MP
* Dame Nia Griffith MP
* Lloyd Hatton MP
* Tom Hayes MP
* Terry Jermy MP
* Gerald Jones MP
* Dr Peter Kyle MP
* Kim Leadbeater MP
* Simon Lightwood MP
* Josh MacAlister OBE MP
* Keir Mather MP
* Martin McCluskey MP
* Kevin McKenna MP
* Stephen Morgan MP
* Luke Murphy MP
* Chris Murray MP
* James Murray MP
* Luke Myer MP
* Josh Newbury MP
* Charlotte Nichols MP
* Kate Osborne MP
* Tris Osborne MP
* Andrew Pakes MP
* Michael Payne MP
* Luke Pollard MP
* Steve Race MP
* Steve Reed OBE MP
* Tim Roca MP
* Tom Rutland MP
* Oliver Ryan MP
* Cat Smith MP
* Wes Streeting MP
* Alan Strickland MP
* Dr Peter Swallow MP
* Rachel Taylor MP
* Nadia Whittome MP

#### House of Lords

* Rt Hon Lord Adonis
* Lord Allen of Kensington CBE
* Lord Alli
* Lord Cashman CBE
* Lord Collins of Highbury
* Baroness Hilton of Eggardon QPM
* Lord Livermore
* Rt Hon Lord Mandelson
* Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury
* Baroness Wilcox of Newport

#### Senedd

* Hannah Blythyn MS
* Jeremy Miles MS

#### Scottish Parliament

* Paul O'Kane MSP

#### Local Government

* Cllr Bev Craig
* Mayor Paul Dennett
* Cllr James Lewis

### Former Patrons

* Tom Copley
* Seb Dance
* Kezia Dugdale
* Ged Killen
* Gordon Marsden

## Affiliates

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 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.