LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom

Homosexuality as an offence

English law identified anal sex as an offence punishable by hanging as a result of the Buggery Act 1533,^[26] which was pioneered by Henry VIII.^[27] The Act was the country's first civil sodomy law, such offences having previously been dealt with by the ecclesiastical courts. While it was repealed in 1553 on the accession of Mary I, it was re-enacted in 1563 under Elizabeth I. James Pratt and John Smith were the last two to be executed for sodomy in 1835.^[28][26]

Although section 61 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 removed the death penalty for homosexuality, male homosexual acts remained illegal and were punishable by imprisonment. In 1862, the Indian Penal Code, created by the colonial authorities of the British Raj, came into force. The code included Section 377, which effectively criminalized same-sex activity in India. The Code was used as the basis for law in Britain's other colonies, therefore exporting anti-homosexuality laws throughout the British Empire.^[29] Today, anti-homosexuality laws still exist in a total of 34 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Labouchere Amendment, section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, extended the laws regarding homosexuality to include any homosexual act between males, even when there were no witnesses. This meant that people could be convicted for private acts, and often a letter between two people expressing affection was enough evidence to convict.^[30] Oscar Wilde was convicted under this law and sentenced to 2 years of penal labour.^[26] Conversely, lesbians were never acknowledged or targeted by legislation.^[31]

In Scotland, although there were no statutes making sex between men unlawful between 1424 and 1707,^[32] homosexual acts were punishable. One example is the commission for trial of Gavin Bell.^[33]

In the early 1950s, the police actively enforced laws prohibiting sexual behaviour between men. By the end of 1954, there were 1,069 homosexual men in prison in England and Wales, with an average age of 37.^[34] There were a number of high-profile arrests and trials, including that of scientist, mathematician, and war-time code-breaker Alan Turing, convicted in 1952 of "gross indecency". He accepted treatment with female hormones (chemical castration) as an alternative to prison. Turing committed suicide in 1954. In 2009, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in response to a petition, issued an apology on behalf of the British Government for "the appalling way he was treated".^[35][36] In 1954, the trial and eventual imprisonment of Edward Montagu (the 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu), Michael Pitt-Rivers and Peter Wildeblood for committing acts of "homosexual indecency" caused uproar and led to the establishment of a committee to examine and report on the law covering "homosexual offences" appointed by Sir David Maxwell Fyfe and Sir Hugh Lucas-Tooth.

Wolfenden

The Wolfenden Committee was set up on 24 August 1954 to consider UK law relating to "homosexual offences"; the Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (better known as the Wolfenden report) was published on 3 September 1957. It recommended that "homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence", finding that "homosexuality cannot legitimately be regarded as a disease, because in many cases it is the only symptom and is compatible with full mental health in other respects."^[37]

In October 1957, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, spoke in support of the Wolfenden Report, saying that "There is a sacred realm of privacy... into which the law, generally speaking, must not intrude. This is a principle of the utmost importance for the preservation of human freedom, self-respect, and responsibility." The first parliamentary debate on the Wolfenden Report was initiated on 4 December 1957 by Lord Pakenham. Of the seventeen peers who spoke in the debate, eight broadly supported the recommendations in the Wolfenden Report. Maxwell Fyfe, by then ennobled as Lord Kilmuir and serving as Lord Chancellor, speaking for the Government, doubted that there would be much public support for implementing the recommendations and stated that further research was required. The Homosexual Law Reform Society was founded on 12 May 1958, mainly to campaign for the implementation of the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations.^[38]

Decriminalisation of homosexual acts

In 1965, Conservative peer Lord Arran proposed the decriminalisation of male homosexual acts (lesbian acts had never been illegal) in the House of Lords. This was followed by Humphry Berkeley in the House of Commons a year later, though Berkeley ascribed his defeat in the 1966 general election to the unpopularity of this action. However, in the newly elected Parliament, Labour MP Leo Abse took up the issue and the Sexual Offences Bill was put before Parliament in order to implement some of the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations after almost ten years of campaigning.^[39]

The Sexual Offences Act 1967 was accordingly passed and received royal assent on 27 July 1967 after an intense late-night debate in the House of Commons. It maintained general prohibitions on buggery and indecency between men, but provided for a limited decriminalisation of homosexual acts where three conditions were fulfilled: 1) the act had to be consensual, 2) the act had to take place in private and 3) the act could involve only people that had attained the age of 21. This was a higher age of consent than that for heterosexual acts, which was set at 16. Further, "in private" limited participation in an act to two people. This condition was interpreted strictly by the courts, which took it to exclude acts taking place in a room in a hotel, for example, and in private homes where a third person was present (even if that person was in a different room). These restrictions were overturned by the European Court of Human Rights in 2000.^[34]

The 1967 Act extended only to England and Wales. Organisations, therefore, continued to campaign for the goal of full equality in Scotland and Northern Ireland where all homosexual behaviour remained illegal. Same-sex sexual activities were legalised in Scotland on the same basis as in the 1967 Act, by section 80 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, which came into force on 1 February 1981.^[40] An analogous amendment was also made to the law of Northern Ireland, following the determination of a case by the European Court of Human Rights (see Dudgeon v. United Kingdom); since Northern Ireland was subject to direct rule at the time, the relevant legislation was an Order in Council, the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982,^[41] which came into force on 8 December 1982.

Equal age of consent

In 1977, Lord Arran introduced the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, which would have lowered the age of consent for homosexual acts to 18. The Bill ended up being rejected by 146 votes to 25.

In 1979, the Home Office Policy Advisory Committee's Working Party report, "Age of Consent in Relation to Sexual Offences", recommended that the age of consent for same-sex sexual activities be reduced from 21 to 18, but no such legislation was enacted as a result.

In February 1994, Parliament considered reform of the law on rape and other sexual offences during the passage of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill. Conservative MP Edwina Currie proposed an amendment to equalise the age of consent of same-sex sexual activities to 16. Currie's amendment was defeated by 307 votes to 280. Those who supported it included Tony Blair,^[42] John Smith, Neil Kinnock, Paddy Ashdown and William Hague. Those against included Labour MPs David Blunkett and Ann Taylor. There were angry scenes outside the Palace of Westminster at the defeat of the amendment, when those involved in a demonstration organised by the group OutRage! clashed with police. Another amendment proposed by Sir Anthony Durant suggested lowering the age of consent to 18, which passed by 427 votes to 162, and Tory supporters included Michael Howard and John Major. It was opposed by such MPs as John Redwood, Michael Heseltine and John Gummer. An amendment proposed by Simon Hughes which was intended to equalise the age of consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals to 17 was not voted upon. The bill as a whole was given a second reading in the House of Lords by 290 votes to 247. The Duke of Norfolk then sought to reintroduce 21 as the minimum age, but the House of Lords rejected his proposal by 176 votes to 113. An amendment by the Deputy Labour Leader in the House of Lords, Lord McIntosh of Haringey, that would have equalised the age of consent to 16 also failed, being rejected by 245 votes to 71.^[43]

In its decision of 1 July 1997, in the case of Sutherland v. United Kingdom, the European Commission of Human Rights found that Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated by a discriminatory age of consent, on the ground that there was no objective and reasonable justification for maintaining a higher minimum age for male homosexual acts. On 13 October 1997, the Government submitted to the European Court of Human Rights that it would propose a bill to Parliament for a reduction of the age of consent for homosexual acts from 18 to 16. On 22 June 1998, the Crime and Disorder Bill was put before Parliament. Ann Keen proposed amendments to lower the age of consent to 16. The House of Commons accepted these provisions with a majority of 207, but they were rejected by the House of Lords with a majority of 168. Subsequently, the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill was introduced on 16 December 1998 and, again, the equalisation of the age of consent was endorsed on 25 January 1999 by the House of Commons, but was rejected on 14 April 1999 by the House of Lords. Those campaigning against the amendment claimed they were simply acting to protect children. Baroness Young, the leader of the campaign against the amendment, said, "Homosexual practices carry great health risks to young people."

The Government reintroduced the bill in 1999. With the prospect of it being passed by the Commons in two successive sessions of Parliament, the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 were available to enact the bill should the Lords have rejected it a third time. The Lords passed the bill at second reading, but made an amendment during committee stage to maintain the age of consent for buggery at 18 for both sexes. However, as the bill had not completed its passage through the Lords at the end of the parliamentary session on 30 November 2000, then Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin certified that the procedure specified by the Parliament Acts had been complied with. The bill received royal assent a few hours later, and was enacted as the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000. The provisions of the Act came into force throughout the UK on 8 January 2001, lowering the age of consent to 16.^[44] This Act also introduced, for the first time, an age of consent for lesbian sexual acts, as previously there had been no legislation concerning this.^[45]

On 1 May 2004, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 entered into force, which swept away all of the previous sex-specific legislation, including the 1967 Act, and introduced instead neutral offences. Thus, the previous conditions relating to privacy were removed, and sexual acts were viewed by the law without regard to the sex of the participants (except that the definition of rape includes use of the defendant's penis).

With the passage of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, Northern Ireland, which had an age of consent of 17 regardless of one's sexual orientation, lowered the age to 16 in 2009 so it would match that of England, Wales, and Scotland.^[46][47][48]

Annulment of convictions

On 31 January 2017, the Policing and Crime Act 2017 went into effect after being given royal assent. A section of the Act known as the Alan Turing law officially gave posthumous pardons to the thousands of homosexual men from England and Wales who had been convicted under those regions' old sodomy laws, and gave those still living the possibility to apply to have their conviction erased. Disregards have been available since 2012, removing the conviction from the person's criminal records.^[49] Scotland passed a more comprehensive law in June 2018, with pardons being automatic for those still living.^[50] The Northern Ireland Assembly passed a similar law in 2016, with it taking effect on 28 June 2018.^[51] Applications for pardons must be made with the Northern Irish Department of Justice.

According to PinkNews, fewer than 200 pardons had been issued in England and Wales by July 2018.^[52]

In June 2019, it was revealed that only two men had sought pardons for historic gay sex offences in Northern Ireland and that they both failed to have their convictions overturned. Across the UK, over half of those who applied for a pardon did not have their convictions overturned.^[53]

In January 2022, it was reported that all same-sex criminal convictions in the past across the UK are to be "formally fully pardoned immediately" by the government under a new scheme.^[54][55][56]

Merchant shipping repeal

In April 2017, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017.^[57] This private member's bill was drafted by Conservative MP John Glen. It repealed sections 146(4) and 147(3) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which was labelled as the UK's "last anti-gay law". It went into effect immediately after royal assent.^[58][59]

Female pardons

In June 2023, it was formally announced by the UK government that pardons would become available for women "convicted of homosexuality". Female homosexuality had never been a civilian offence in the United Kingdom, but lesbian women serving in the military could still suffer penalties under provisions contained in the Army Act 1955, in the Air Force Act 1955 and in the Naval Discipline Act 1957.^[60]

Civil partnership

There was no legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Britain until 2005, following the legalisation of civil partnerships under the passage of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Welsh: Deddf Partneriaeth Sifil 2004; Scottish Gaelic: Achd Com-pàirteachasan Sìobhalta 2004) on 18 November 2004. Civil partnerships are a separate union which give most (but not all) of the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage, but there are recognition issues in other countries and with the use of courtesy titles. Civil partnerships can take place on any approved premise in the UK and in approved religious venues in England and Wales since 2011 (though religious venues are not compelled), but cannot include religious readings, music or symbols.^[61][62] The Civil Partnership Act came into effect on 5 December 2005.

The first civil partnership ceremony took place at 11:00 (GMT) on 5 December 2005 between Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp at St Barnabas Hospice, Worthing, West Sussex.^[63] The usual 14-day waiting period was waived as Roche was suffering from a terminal illness. He died the next day.^[64] The first civil partnership ceremonies after the statutory waiting period then took place in Northern Ireland on 19 December, with ceremonies following the next day in Scotland and the day after that in England and Wales.

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom has been the subject of wide debate since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain. Previous legislation in England and Wales had prevented same-sex marriage, including the Marriage Act 1949 which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, the Nullity of Marriage Act 1971 which explicitly banned same-sex marriages, and the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 which reiterated the provisions of the Nullity of Marriage Act.

While civil partnerships were established nationwide, marriage law is a devolved matter in the United Kingdom and therefore the legislative procedure of same-sex marriage differs by jurisdiction. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which allows same-sex marriage in England and Wales, was passed by the UK Parliament in July 2013 and came into force on 13 March 2014, with the first same-sex marriages taking place on 29 March 2014.^[65][66][67] The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014, allowing same-sex marriage in Scotland, was passed by the Scottish Parliament in February 2014 and came into effect on 16 December 2014.^[68][69]

Same-sex marriages in the UK give all the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage and can be performed on approved premises. This also includes religious venues, providing the religious or belief body has opted-in. However, no religious or belief body is compelled to perform same-sex marriages; the Church of England and the Church in Wales are explicitly banned from doing so. For the purposes of the divorce of a same-sex marriage, the common law definition of adultery remains as sexual intercourse between a man and a woman only, although infidelity with a person of the same sex can be grounds for a divorce as "unreasonable behaviour."^[70] Non-consummation is also excluded as a ground for the annulment of a same-sex marriage.^[70]

Between 2012 and 2015, the Northern Ireland Assembly voted five times on same-sex marriage; it was passed by a slim majority on the fifth attempt. It was then vetoed by the Democratic Unionist Party using the petition of concern.^[71] Following the inconclusive 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election and failure to form a Northern Ireland Executive by the deadline of 21 October 2019, provisions in the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, which was passed by the UK Parliament on 18 July 2019 and received royal assent on 24 July, mandated the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to pass regulations legalising same-sex marriage by 13 January 2020.^[72] The Secretary of State, Julian Smith signed the regulations on 19 December 2019.^[73] Same-sex marriage therefore became legal in Northern Ireland on 13 January 2020, with couples free to register their intent to marry and couples who had previously married elsewhere having their unions recognised from that date.^[74][75] The first same-sex marriage ceremony took place in Carrickfergus on 11 February 2020.^[76]

Religious same-sex marriages

In March 2011, the Liberal Judaism movement became the first Jewish movement in the UK to recognise same-sex marriage as fully equal to that of heterosexual couples.^[77]

On 30 June 2021, the Methodist Church voted 254 to 46 in favour of changing the definition of marriage to allow same-sex marriage, thus becoming the largest religious denomination in Britain to permit same-sex marriages.^[78][79]

In September 2021, the Church in Wales voted to "formally bless same-sex couples" (by way of debate and compromise) - but not legally recognising same-sex marriage within titles of the Church officially.^[80][81][82]

Effective from midnight January 1, 2024 the Church of England will formally perform "blessings to same-sex couples" - after passing through by just one voice vote.^[83][84]

NHS UK lawsuit

In November 2021, a lesbian couple launched a judicial review against Frimley NHS Clinical commissioning group over a "discriminatory" fertility policy.^[103] The majority of heterosexual couples are only required to "try to conceive" for 2 years before becoming eligible for NHS-funded treatment, whilst same-sex female couples are required to undergo 12 rounds of private IVF treatment before becoming eligible.^[104][105]

Transgender youth

Transgender youth are covered by the Equality Act 2010, and therefore protected from discrimination as are adult trans people. In the UK, children and young people under 16 may also consent to certain medical treatments based on the principle of Gillick competence, which until 2022 included puberty blockers.^[116]

Until March 2024, children who wished to medically transition were referred to the NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), the only gender identity clinic for people under 18 in the UK at the time. GIDS offered no surgical options for transition, per National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. In October 2019, the service was subject to a legal case, Bell v Tavistock,^[117] and in December 2020 the High Court of Justice ruled that children under 16 could not independently consent to the use of puberty blockers.^[118] This was widely condemned by LGBTQ+ rights groups, such as Stonewall,^[119] The Consortium^[120] and Mermaids,^[121] as well as human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Liberty.^[122]

Scholars suggested the judgement could have wider impact on the principle of Gillick competence – which allows young people who satisfy the requirements for competence to make decisions about their reproductive health, among other things – and described the judgement as "protectionist".^[116] The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health issued a statement hoping for further clarity,^[123] and leave to appeal was granted in January 2021.^[124] This appeal was successful, with the original ruling being overturned in September 2021.^[125]

In September 2020, the NHS launched a review of gender identity services for young people, led by paediatrician Hilary Cass.^[126][123] In July 2022, following the release of the Cass Review's interim report, the NHS said it would close GIDS and replace it with eight regional healthcare centres.^[127] Dr Cal Horton, a research fellow in the Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice at Oxford Brookes, accused the interim report of "cis-supremacy".^[128][129]

In November 2022, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) – along with regional groups ASIAPATH, EPATH, PATHA, and USPATH – issued a statement criticising the NHS England interim service specifications based on the interim Cass report. It said the report pathologised gender diversity, made "outdated" assumptions about trans people, ignored newer evidence, and promoted an "unconscionable degree of medical and state intrusion" into everyday matters such as pronouns and clothing choice, as well as into access to gender-affirming care. It further said that "the denial of gender-affirming treatment under the guise of 'exploratory therapy' is tantamount to 'conversion' or 'reparative' therapy under another name".^[130]

The completed Cass Review was published on 10 April 2024. It said that there was no high quality evidence for the use of puberty blockers to treat young people, and that there was insufficient evidence of their safety.^[131] The final report was condemned by the LGBTQ+ community, including experts and charities.^[128][132]

Among the criticisms were suggestions that Cass had not engaged with mainstream LGBTQ+ groups but had given undue attention to smaller, controversial groups, such as the LGB Alliance and several gender critical groups, which had campaigned against trans-affirming healthcare and which have been described as transphobic by most LGBTQ+ groups. Cass was also criticised for having no prior experience of treating trans children while excluding trans experts from the process.^[128][132] The review was also criticised by a number of medical organisations and academic groups in the UK and internationally for its methodology and findings.^{[133][134][135]}

The British Medical Association (BMA) said it would conduct its own evaluation of the review, after the BMA’s Council voted to "publicly critique the Cass Review".^[136] Mermaids warned that the report "could be used to justify additional barriers to accessing care for some trans young people in the same way the interim report has been".^[128] Amnesty International criticised "sensationalised coverage" of the review, stating it was "being weaponised by people who revel in spreading disinformation and myths about healthcare for trans young people".^[137]

In March 2024, NHS England said that gender identity clinics would no longer prescribe puberty blockers to children or young people.^[138] The review said such treatment should only be prescribed as part of a clinical trial.^[139] In August, the referral pathway for gender clinics was revised and a review of adult services was also commissioned.^[140][141] On 11 December 2024, the ban was renewed indefinitely and is set to be reconsidered in 2027.^[142][143]

On 28 March 2024, after several delays, the Tavistock GIDS was closed;^[144] two of the eight planned regional centres opened in April. No other centres have opened to date.^[145] As a result of delays in establishing alternative services, many 16 and 17 year olds were transferred to adult services, where they received less exploratory and more medicalised treatment than they would have received in children's services.^[146]

In October 2024, over 100 experts and organisations signed an open letter to the new Health Minister Wes Streeting, stating they had a "deep lack of confidence" in the Cass Review and cautioning against the "degrading" of trans healthcare based on it. The letter said the Cass Review did not follow best practice according to other independent reviews in controversial areas:

[Trustworthy reviews] have a clear mandate and problem to solve which are raised by those directly affected, not by newspaper columnists or ideologues. They do not exclude members of the patient cohort and those with long-term experience in the field from being part of their team or consider professional or lived experience “bias”.^[132]

In England a delayed clinical trial into puberty blockers is planned for early 2025.^[147]

Single-sex schools

In January 2022, the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) updated its policies to bar admissions for trans girls without a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). The trust said it could lose its single-sex status if it admitted trans students who were legally male. They said they would address applications from trans girls with a GRC on a "case-by-case" basis. The trust said it was permitted to exclude trans students due to the exemptions in the Equality Act 2010. Trans boys who transitioned after being admitted to GDST schools would be allowed to remain.^[148]

Rugby England policy

In July 2022, Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) implemented a single-sex policy for under-12s girls' competitions, which excludes trans girls from girls' teams. The Rugby League said, "Non-contact rugby league … and wheelchair rugby league remains mixed-gender and available for all without any gender-based eligibility criteria."^[149]

British Airways

From 14 November 2022, British Airways updated its uniform policy to allow any employee to wear makeup, earrings and nail varnish, or to carry a handbag or other accessories.^[150] Equal opportunity policies were also immediately extended to "gender, gender identity and sexual identity".^{[citation needed]}

Transgender immigrants

In December 2023, the UK government said it would no longer accept gender recognition certificates issued by 50 countries and U.S. states, due to concerns those jurisdictions allowed people to transition "too easily". Individuals from these locations would have to apply for a new GRC according to British law to legally change their gender in the UK. The jurisdictions proposed included Sweden, New York State, and Belgium. Many of them offer gender recognition certificates based on self-identification (e.g., such as a statutory declaration) rather than a medicalised pathway.^[151]

Women and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said the changes were "long overdue", and that change was necessary to create parity between UK applicants and foreign nationals. Badenoch's plans were criticised by Shadow Equalities Minister Anneliese Dodds (Labour), who said the list of accepted jurisdictions may have diplomatic consequences, since it no longer included the other four members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance: Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. ^[152]

Bathrooms and toilets in England

In May 2024, Kemi Badenoch proposed legislation to mandate single-sex bathrooms for all new buildings within England, except those in schools and prisons. Gender-neutral toilets with their own self-contained sink would be allowed in addition to single-sex toilets, or instead of them if space otherwise would not allow single-sex toilets.^[153]

In June 2024, five women launched employment tribunal action against the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust alleging harassment and discrimination due to the trust's diversity policies. The women had raised concerns about sharing changing facilities with a trans staff member and were unhappy with the alternative facilities provided.^[154][155] They were supported by the anti-LGBTQ evangelical organization Christian Legal Centre, and its linked campaign group Christian Concern, which said the NHS was "putting a dangerous and discredited transgender ideology ahead of staff and patient safety, not to mention biological reality".^{[156][157][158]} The trust said it aimed to have a "safe, secure, and respectful working environment". In a statement, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said "everybody deserves to feel safe and treated with respect at their workplace".^[159][160]

In August 2024, NHS England introduced new mandatory diversity training which, according to The Daily Mail, stated that it was potentially "illegal harassment" to ask a trans colleague to use another bathroom or changing room. The NHS said the guidance was "out of date" and had been removed while new training was developed.^[161]

Passports court case

In December 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment in R (Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2020), which had found the UK government could refuse to add an X gender marker on UK passports. The case is awaiting an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Both Denmark and Malta in Europe have recognised gender X options on their passports.^{[162][163][164]} The Gender Recognition Act 2004 does not allow a person to legally identify as anything other than male or female.^[30]

Section 28

The 1980s saw a setback for LGBT rights. The availability in the libraries of schools run by the Inner London Education Authority of a book considered by some to "promote" homosexuality led to protests and a campaign for new legislation.^[185] Consequently, the Local Government Act 1988 included a provision prohibiting "the intentional promotion of homosexuality" by any local authority and "the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship."^[186] The provision was known as Section 28, and amended section 2A of the earlier Local Government Act 1986. Changes in the structure of local government since that date led to some confusion over the precise circumstances in which the new law applied, including the question of whether or not it applied at all in state schools.

Section 28 (called Section 2A in Scotland) was repealed in Scotland within the first two years of the existence of the Scottish Parliament, by the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.^[187] A move to remove the provision in England and Wales was prevented following opposition in the House of Lords, led by Baroness Young. Following her death in 2002, it was repealed by the Labour Government in the Local Government Act 2003, which took effect on 18 November 2003. During the passage of the bill, no attempt was made to retain the section and an amendment seeking to preserve it using ballots was defeated in the House of Lords. In June 2009, David Cameron, Conservative Party Leader, formally apologised for his party introducing the law, stating that it was a mistake and offensive to gay people.^[188]

Public Order Act 1986

Section 29AB of the Public Order Act 1986 states:^[189]

In this Part "hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation" means hatred against a group of persons defined by reference to sexual orientation (whether towards persons of the same sex, the opposite sex or both)

Section 29JA, titled "Protection of freedom of expression (sexual orientation)", of the Act states the following:^[189]

(1) In this Part, for the avoidance of doubt, the discussion or criticism of sexual conduct or practices or the urging of persons to refrain from or modify such conduct or practices shall not be taken of itself to be threatening or intended to stir up hatred.

(2) In this Part, for the avoidance of doubt, any discussion or criticism of marriage which concerns the sex of the parties to marriage shall not be taken of itself to be threatening or intended to stir up hatred.

Homophobic chanting at football matches

In July 2020, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced they wished to amend the Football (Offences) Act 1991 to explicitly ban homophobic chanting at football matches.^[190] Currently, those accused of homophobic chanting are prosecuted for "indecent" chanting.^[191]

An earlier effort was made in 2018 to ban homophobic chanting by Damian Collins, at the time chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, and former Wales rugby player Gareth Thomas.^[192][193]

Military pardons

In February 2021, the Ministry of Defence introduced the Armed Forces Bill 2021^[204] that automatically pardons all gay sex criminal records within the UK military.^[205] It was also announced that military personnel dismissed on grounds of homosexuality will be able to have their service medals restored if they had been taken away.^[206]

Advocacy organisations

The Homosexual Law Reform Society (HLRS) was established on May 12, 1958, in response to the Wolfenden Report's findings and the government's lack of action in light of the report.^[266] HLRS lobbied parliament to act upon the Wolfenden Report findings and for the complete decriminalisation of homosexuality.^[266] Their multiple campaigns led to the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967.^[266]

The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) started in Manchester as the North Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee (NWHLRC).^[267] CHE is a democratic voluntary organisation founded in 1964 with the aim of achieving full legal and social equality for LGBT people in England and Wales.^[267]

The Gay Liberation Front notably raised awareness of gay rights, particularly during the 1971 Festival of Light protests.^[268] Unlike LGBT movements before it, the GLF shifted focus from primarily advocating for legal reform to actively pursuing a revolutionary transformation in society for LGBT people.^[269][270]

Stonewall is an LGBT equality organisation and is currently the largest in the UK and Europe.^[271] On 5 April 1993, Stonewall backed Hugo Greenhalgh, William Parry and Ralph Wilde at the European Court.^[272] They argued that the law banning ‘homosexual acts’ for anyone under 21 was a breach of their human rights, as it interfered with their private lives.^[273] Stonewall continued to challenge the unequal age of consent for homosexual and bisexual men until the equal age of consent of 16-years-old was finally secured in 2001.^[274] Stonewall continues to fight for LGBT equality, particularly in sport, education and the workplace.^[275]

The Gay Black Group were founded in 1981 in London. Formed of Black and Asian gay men and lesbians, the group existed to create 'a supportive environment where black gays and lesbians can meet and share their experiences without fear.'^[276] The Gay Black Group went on to found the first Black Lesbian and Gay Centre, which ran from 1985 to 2000 at various venues in London.^[277] This organisation is an example of a number of historic and contemporary groups designed to cater to Black LGBTQ+ people, such as UK Black Pride today.

LGBT people are allowed to serve openly in the police and, in 1990 the Lesbian and Gay Police Association (LAGPA) was founded to represent the interests of gay, lesbian and bisexual police officers and police staff in the United Kingdom.^[278] The LAGPA was replaced by the National LGBT Police Network in 2014.

Pride parades

Pride parades have been used by the LGBT community to publicly assert their identity, resist discrimination, and demand social and legal changes to end LGBTQ+ oppression.^[279]

On 1 July 1972, the UK's first Pride march was held in London. The date was chosen as the closest Saturday to the anniversary of the Stonewall riots of 28 June 1969.^[280] GLF and Campaign for Homosexual Equality were key organisers.^[280] Pride in London is the largest and oldest march, and has been organised annually since. Pride Parades are popular summer events in most large cities, and have expanded to smaller cities and towns in recent years.^[281] Other notable pride parades include: Brighton Pride, Liverpool Pride, Manchester Pride, and Cardiff Pride.^[282]

In May 2020, on the 5th anniversary of the passing of the same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland, Amnesty International, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and the Rainbow Project announced plans for mass demonstration in Belfast.^[283] This protest was in response to the UK government's failure to allow people to convert their civil unions into marriages despite the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland through the Northern Ireland Act 2019.^[284]

Census

In 2009, the Equality and Human Rights Commission called for the inclusion of a question on sexual orientation in the 2011 census, but this was rejected by the Office for National Statistics who run the census.^[292]

In the 2021 census questions on gender, gender identity and sexual orientation were included for the first time.^[293] Stonewall supported the move, stating "gathering data on LGBT communities in the UK is a vital step towards building a society where LGBT people are truly accepted, everywhere and by everyone."^[294] These provisions were made in the Census (Return Particulars and Removal of Penalties) Act 2019 for England and Wales, and in the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2019 for Scotland. The guidance to the question "What is your sex?" was subject to a High Court case, led by Fair Play For Women, which found that sex should only be declared per the sex recorded on either a birth certificate or Gender Recognition Certificate, rather than any official document.^[295]

Media

As a national broadcaster, the BBC has been associated with LGBT+ people through its history. In 1938, the BBC broadcast "female impersonator" Douglas Byng, who was closeted at the time of broadcast. In 1957, following the release of the Wolfenden Report, BBC Radio broadcast a special programme titled "The Homosexual Condition" and the subject was discussed on Lifeline and Any Questions? television programmes. In 1965 the BBC postponed the broadcast of The Wednesday Play: Horror of Darkness due to the inclusion of a gay love triangle.^[296]

Following the Sexual Offences Act 1967, BBC television representation increased. In 1970, the first ever gay kiss was shown on television, between Ian McKellen and James Laurenson in a performance of Edward II. The first lesbian kiss was shown later in 1974, between Alison Steadman and Myra Frances on the TV show Girl, part of Second City Firsts. In 1987, EastEnders showed the first same-sex kiss on a British soap. In 1995, the show Gaytime TV was broadcast on BBC Two, the first to be primarily targeted at queer audiences.^[296]

Music continued to be censored by the BBC throughout the 1970s and 80s. In 1978, Tom Robinson's Glad to be Gay was banned by BBC Radio 1. In 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax was similarly banned from daytime and chart shows.^[296]

In 2005, the first LGBT History Month took place, with broadcast on the BBC generally sceptical.^[296] The BBC has continued to cover LGBT History Month.

In 2010, the BBC Trust produced a report calling for increased representation of LGBT minorities, including more "incidental homosexuality" in TV programming.^[297]

In March 2019, the first LGBT+ correspondent for BBC News, Ben Hunte was hired.^[296] In November 2020, it was announced that staff working in news and current affairs at the BBC were banned from attending UK pride marches, so as not to be seen as politically biased (even in a "personal" individual capacity).^[298] The BBC later clarified that whilst it was not a blanket ban, staff should seek permission before attending events.^[299]

In July 2020, the first same-sex kiss on the children's TV channel CBBC was aired, following a long-running romantic arc between two female characters on the Canadian teen drama series The Next Step.^[300]

Politics

LGBT people have been serving openly in UK politics since the 1970s. In 1972, Sam Green, an openly gay man and member of the Gay Liberation Front, was elected as a member of Durham City Council for the Liberal Party. He has since been described as the first openly gay political candidate in the UK.^[301][302]

The first openly LGBT MP was Maureen Colquhoun (Labour Party, MP 1974–79), who was outed as a Lesbian in 1976.^[303] Colquhoun was a left-wing feminist and sought to combat gender inequality. Colquhoun was deselected due to her sexuality and her feminist views in 1977, but this decision was later overturned.^[304]

Chris Smith, an MP since 1983 and out since 1984, became the first openly gay secretary of state for culture, media and sport in 1997.^[305] Later that year, Angela Eagle came out: the first openly lesbian MP since Maureen Colquhoun.^[305]

46 openly LGB MPs were elected at the 2019 General Election. This was one less than in 2017, an increase of five from the 2015 General Election. Of those 46 LGB MPs, 20 were Conservative, 15 Labour, 10 SNP and one independent. Of the main parties, the SNP had the highest proportion of LGB MPs (21%).^[306] No openly trans or non-binary MP's were elected in the 2019 general elections.^[307]

Nikki Sinclaire (UKIP, 2009 - 2014) was the first ever trans British parliamentarian as the MEP for West Midlands from 2009 to 2014.^[308]

Layla Moran (Liberal Democrats, 2017–Present) became the first ever openly pansexual MP in 2017.^[309][310]

In 2021 Owen Hurcum, 23, became the world's first openly non-binary mayor after they were chosen by fellow councillors on Bangor City Council in Gwynedd, Wales. Owen identifies as queer and agender.

On 30 March 2022, Jaime Wallis (Conservative Party, 2019–Present) came out as transgender, becoming the first openly transgender MP in the House of Commons.^[311]

Jamie Wallis, Conservative MP for Bridgend since 2019, is the first openly transgender MP.^[312][313] Nikki Sinclaire was the first ever trans British parliamentarian as the MEP for West Midlands from 2009 to 2014.^[314]

Currency

In March 2021, the Bank of England announced that the next £50 note would have Alan Turing displayed on the reverse; it entered circulation on 23 June 2021, reflecting Turing's birth date.^[315]

Britains Royal Mint released a 50 pence coin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pride. It was designed by Dominique Holmes, an LGBTQ+ activist.^[316] One side features Queen Elizabeth II, and the other side showcases a rainbow design symbolising Pride. The rainbow includes "pride" in the centre and represents Pride in London's values: protest, visibility, unity, and equality.^[317]

Towards homosexuality

Historical attitudes to same-sex sexual relations in Britain (1983–2012)^[318]

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

In 1993, Stonewall conducted a survey of gay men and lesbians at work where they found two-thirds of respondents hid their sexuality at work and only 11% of respondents never hid their sexual orientation in the workplace. A follow-up survey done in 2008 found that 20% of gay and lesbian people had experienced bullying at work.^[319]

Attitudes towards homosexuality amongst the British public have become more tolerant over time; according to the British Social Attitudes Survey, in 1983 approximately 50% to 70% of respondents of the three major political parties (Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat) regarded homosexuality as "always wrong" or "mostly wrong" and in 1993 opposition to homosexuality was reported to have slightly increased amongst all parties. However, by 2003 attitudes had become more tolerant, with 25% to 50% of respondents regarding homosexuality as always or mostly wrong and by 2013, only around 20% to 35% of respondents in each party felt the same way. Liberal Democrat respondents tended to be less likely to regard homosexuality as wrong than Labour or Conservative respondents across each survey.^[320] In 2015, a poll carried out by YouGov found that nearly twice as many residents in London believed homosexuality to be "morally wrong" compared to the rest of the UK (29% compared to 15 to 17%).^[321] Londoners were also over five times more likely to reject support for a gay child compared to the rest of the UK.^[322] A face-to-face survey conducted in 2015 by ICM Research for Channel 4 found that 18% of British Muslims agreed with the statement that homosexuality should be legal in Britain, while 52% disagreed, and 22% neither agreed or disagreed.^[323][324] This was an improvement from a Gallup poll conducted in 2009 which found that British Muslims had zero tolerance towards homosexuality.^[325][326]

An illustration of social attitudes towards homosexuality in the UK was provided in May 2007 in a survey by YouGov. The poll indicated that legislation outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was supported by 90% of British citizens. It also showed positive public perceptions of gay people in particular, but recognised the extent to which prejudice still exists.^[327] A poll in June 2009 conducted by Populus for The Times reported that the majority of the public supported same-sex marriage; 61% of respondents agreed that "Gay couples should have an equal right to get married, not just to have civil partnerships".^[328][329] There were few differentials by partisanship.^[330]

A more recent opinion poll, conducted in 2017 by Pew Research Center, found that 77% of the British public were in favour of same-sex marriage.^[331] Support had increased to 85% according to the 2019 Eurobarometer, which polled all members states of the European Union on the question. The EU average was 69%.^[332]

Towards transgender people

A June 2020 survey by YouGov found that British people tended to support people identifying as the gender of their choice, but did not support making the legal process easier. YouGov's analysis also remarked that British "[p]eople tend to be fine with transgender people using facilities for their new gender, but not if they have not undergone gender reassignment surgery". The survey found women and younger respondents to be more trans-friendly than men and older respondents.^[333]

More information Dec 2018 (%), June 2020 (%) ...

2018–2022 YouGov Survey^[333]

	Dec 2018 (%)			June 2020 (%)			May 2022 (%)[334]
	Agree	Disagree	Not sure	Agree	Disagree	Not sure	Agree	Disagree	Not sure
"A transgender man is a man"	43	32	25	41	36	23	39	39	22
"A transgender woman is a woman"	43	32	25	40	36	23	38	40	22
"It should be made easier for transgender people to change their legal gender"	28	48	24	28	47	25	26	50	25
"Transgender women should be allowed to participate in women's sport"	27	48	25	20	55	25	16	61	22
"Transgender men should be allowed to participate in men's sport"	37	39	25	31	44	24	29	48	23
"Transgender women should be able to use the women's toilet"	46	30	23	46	30	23	38	41	21
"Transgender men should be allowed to use the men's toilet"	48	27	25	49	28	23	42	34	23

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LGBT experience

In 2017, 108,000 people participated in the National LGBT Survey, making it one of the biggest survey of LGBT people in the world. LGBT people were found to be less satisfied with life compared to the wider UK population, with trans satisfaction notably lower. 68% of respondents said they avoided holding hands with their same-sex partner in public. 5% of respondents had been offered conversion therapy, with 2% undergoing such therapies.^[335] The findings from the National LGBT Survey have been used to inform a 75-point LGBT Action Plan to address the key issues identified, including bringing forward proposals to ban conversion therapy in the UK.^[226]

Crown dependencies

More information LGBT rights in:, Same-sex sexual activity ...

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Gender recognition	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Same-sex adoption	Military service	Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation)	Anti-discrimination (gender identity)
Guernsey	Legal since 1983; age of consent equalised in 2012[343][344]	Since 2007, only allows a new birth certificate to be issued. Does not amend or remove records of existing birth certificates, extension to Alderney and Sark unclear[345][346]	Since 2012 in Guernsey, 2016 in Alderney and 2020 in Sark[347]	Legal since 2017 in Guernsey, 2018 in Alderney and 2020 in Sark[347][348]	Legal since 2017[349]	UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[345]	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of "gender reassignment"[345]
Isle of Man	Legal since 1992; age of consent equalised in 2006	Under the Gender Recognition Act 2009[350]	Civil partnership since 2011	Legal since 2016	Legal since 2011	UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[351]	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of "gender reassignment"[351]
Jersey	Legal since 1990; age of consent equalised in 2006	Under the Gender Recognition (Jersey) Law 2010[352]	Civil partnership since 2012	Legal since 2018[353]	Legal since 2012	UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[354]	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of "gender reassignment"[354]

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Overseas Territories

More information LGBT rights in:, Same-sex sexual activity ...

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Same-sex adoption	Military service	Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation)	Anti-discrimination (gender identity)
Anguilla	Legal since 2001 (Age of consent discrepancy)				UK responsible for defence
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	Legal since 2000;[355][356] age of consent equalised in 2003		Legal since 2014[357]		UK responsible for defence	Bans some discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[358][359]
Bermuda	Legal since 1994;[360] age of consent equalised in 2019	Domestic partnership since 2018[361]	Was legal between November 2018 and March 2022 and between May 2017 and June 2018	Legal since 2015	UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[362]
British Antarctic Territory	Legal		Legal since 2016[363][364]		UK responsible for defence
British Indian Ocean Territory	Legal		Legal since 2014[365][366]		UK responsible for defence
British Virgin Islands	Legal since 2001				UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[367]
Cayman Islands	Legal since 2001 (Age of consent discrepancy)[368]	Civil Partnership since 2020[369]		Legal since 2020	UK responsible for defence
Falkland Islands	Legal since 1989; age of consent equalised in 2005	Civil partnership since 2017[370]	Legal since 2017[370][371][non-primary source needed]	Legal since 2017	UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[372]
Gibraltar	Legal since 1993; age of consent equalised in 2012	Civil partnership since 2014[373]	Legal since 2016[373][374][375]	Legal since 2014	UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[376]	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of "gender reassignment"[376]
Montserrat	Legal since 2000 (Age of consent discrepancy)		(Constitutional ban since 2010)[377]		UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[377]
Pitcairn Islands	Legal		Legal since 2015[378]	Legal since 2015[379]	UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[380]
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	Legal		Legal since 2017[381][382][383]	Legal since 2017	UK responsible for defense	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[384]	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of "gender reassignment"[385]
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Legal		Legal since 2014[386]		UK responsible for defence
Turks and Caicos Islands	Legal since 2001 (Age of consent discrepancy)		(Constitutional ban since 2011)[387]		UK responsible for defence	Bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation[387]

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Notes