Once again, the iconic progress pride flag will be flying over Islington Town Hall this June to mark Pride Month and the Labour-led Council is supporting events hosted by the local LGBTQ+ forum, forum+, this month. Pride Month 2023 has a particular significance, as 2023 marks 20 years since Section 28 was repealed.

Islington has a long and very proud LGBTQ+ history. From having the first openly gay mayor in the UK – Bob Crossman – to having the UK’s first gay rights demonstration on Highbury Fields in 1970 to having the first MP to come out as gay – Chris Smith -, Islington has a tradition of being a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and the Labour-run Council has been an ally for many years.

In a world where it is not safe for people to live their truth and love and/or express themselves freely, we are proud that as Islington Labour we have stood shoulder to shoulder with the queer community, especially at a time when LGBTQ+ people are having their rights and protections stripped from them daily. 70 countries across the world criminalise same-sex relationships. The death penalty for same sex relationships exists in 11 countries. In more than half the world, LGBTQ+ people may not be protected from discrimination in their workplace. And finally, a quarter of the world’s population believes being LGBTQ+ should be a crime. These statistics show that Pride Month is still needed, to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ people, to continue to fight for LGBTQ+ rights across the world, to build a supportive community and to give people the opportunity to celebrate who they are.

2021 Census data showed that just under 9% of Islington’s population identify as LGBTQ+ in some way, with 8.01% identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual and 0.95% identifying with a different gender to the one assigned at birth.

Islington Labour’s solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community extends for many years. In 2014, we elected Labour’s first openly trans councillor, Osh Gantly. In 2019 we backed LGBT Labour’s inclusive education for all campaign where then-leader of the Council Richard Watts and then-Executive Member for Children Young People and Families Kaya Comer-Schwartz wrote to all Islington headteachers to demonstrate support for LGBTQ+ inclusive education. Furthermore, in the 2022 local elections we put forward our most diverse set of candidates yet – with 12% of candidates identifying as LGBTQ+.

We strive to make Islington a fairer, safer, and greener borough, with policies that tackle the issues that matter the most to our residents:

• Almost one in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives and are disproportionately affected by the ongoing housing crisis which is why tackling the housing crisis is one of our top priorities. We have approved 587 new social homes to be built across the borough in the last year.
• We have launched the Young Black Men and Mental Health Programme and the School Wellbeing Service whilst remembering that half of LGBTQ+ people have experienced depression at some point in their lives.
• Launched a Safe Havens scheme across the borough to support those who need some extra help feeling supported. Studies have suggested that 9 in 10 LGBTQ+ people have experienced verbal abuse on the street, and this scheme helps to support those individuals and others who need extra help to feel safe.
• Consistently supported events taking place across both Pride Month and LGBT History Month by promoting them through official council channels
• The community safety team have created safe spaces around the borough for our LGBTQ+ community through our Hate Crime Forum and have developed the Hate Crime Champion scheme. Hate Crime Champions are members of the community who want to tackle discrimination by raising awareness of hate crime, encouraging the reporting of hate crime and signposting victims to support services. We have commissioned free online hate crime training which is a short course designed to raise awareness of hate crime.

The last Labour Government improved the rights of LGBTQ+ people more than any Government before it by doing the following:

• 1997 – The Labour Government signs the Treaty of Amsterdam on behalf of the UK, which gave the EU powers to end discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
• 2000 – Following a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights, the Labour Government lifted the ban on lesbians, gay men and bi people serving in the armed forces
• 2001 – Labour passed The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, lowering the age of consent for those in same-sex relationships from 18 to 16.
• 2003 – Labour repeals Section 28
• 2004 – Labour produced and implemented the Gender Recognition Act, allowing Trans people to have their true gender recognised in law.
• 2004 – Labour passes the Civil Partnership Act, granting civil partnerships in the UK.
• 2009 – The Labour government awarded statutory rights for fertility treatment for lesbians and bi women on the NHS
• 2010 – Labour introduces the Equality Act

Cllr Roulin Khondoker, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Culture, Equality and Inclusion, and Cllr Hannah McHugh, the Council’s Equalities Champion said:

“The first pride parade was a protest – and whilst the meaning of pride has changed significantly – this June, Islington Council and Islington Labour will celebrate the LGBTQ+ community  while also remembering how far there is left to go in progressing human rights for all.”