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There are some important decisions to be taken by all voters in the forthcoming Local Elections on May 7th 2026. Particularly if
you are gay, you need to look at the past record of Tory governments and decide for yourself whether they
achieved any of their previous commitments, and whether they did improve the lives of anyone from the LGBT+ community.
Many people believe that Labour are no better than the Tories, and it's true they have had a torrid time since taking office, most of it by their own making. They are facing a major challenge on May 7th after having slumped in the opinion polls during the past few months. But Labour are the party that will protect LGBT+ freedoms and rights - they are the only party likely to be in power who would. The Liberal Democrats and Greens aren't going to form a government. Reform would be a total disaster for LGBT+ rights - they have stated that they want to row back many of the freedoms we now have. The Conservatives did nothing for LGBT+ people during the 14 years that they were last running the country. Just consider what happened: | ||
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In July 2017, the Tory Government launched a national survey of
LGBT people. The survey was open to anyone who identified as having
a minority sexual orientation, gender identity or had variations in sex
characteristics.
It questioned people’s experiences of living in the UK and being able to access education, healthcare, personal safety and employment. There were more than 108,000 responses, making it the largest national survey of its kind anywhere in the world. The Tories made a commitment to take bold action based on the results of the survey. The "LGBT Action Plan" championed by the then Minister for Equalities, Penny Mordaunt, explained how they would advance the rights of LGBT people both at home and abroad, and improve the way that public services work for them. | 
Former Equalities Minister Penny Mordaunt Photo: UK Government OGL 3 via Wikimedia Commons | |
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The Government promised they would establish an "LGBT Implementation Fund" to deliver the
action plan, allocating £4.5 million of funding until March 2020, with additional funding for future years.
The funding would be used to deliver the commitments made in the plan, and
enable public, private and voluntary sector organisations to deliver
projects that respond to the findings of the survey.
They promised to ensure that LGBT people’s needs were at the heart of the National Health Service, as the survey showed that LGBT people felt their specific needs go unaddressed when accessing healthcare. They promised a National Adviser to provide leadership on reducing the health inequalities that LGBT people face, and would establish a more modern care model for adult gender identity services in England. Specifically in education they would act to ensure that every child and young person feels safe in education, recognising that homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying is a major problem that needs to be addressed. They promised to ensure that transgender people are treated with dignity and respect and said they would launch separate "Calls for Evidence" on the issues faced by non-binary and intersex people. None of it happened. Absolutely none of it. Penny Mordaunt was replaced as Minister for Women and Equalities. There was no "LGBT Implementation Fund" or any sign of £4.5 million of funding. The NHS reforms didn't go ahead and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools ended up as bad as it ever was. There were never any "Calls for Evidence" on the issues faced by non-binary and intersex people. None of it happened. Absolutely none of it. | ||
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The Conservative Government killed off the action plan on LGBT issues just after the 2020 general election, despite assurances from the then leader Boris Johnson
that he would "remain committed" to it. He himself went on to make a number of homophobic slurs, including the phrase "tank-topped bum boys", which he
repeatedly refused to apologise for.
When Peter Mandelson resigned from the Labour administration Johnson talked of how the "lipstick" would come away from Tony Blair’s government. He then said, "If gay marriage was OK – and I was uncertain on the issue – then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men, or indeed three men and a dog." | 
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson Caricature by: DonkeyHotey CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons | |
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It was clear that Johnson was no friend of the LGBT community. A new equalities minister Liz Truss was put in post, and she immediately announced
that the Government’s LGBT advisory panel was being disbanded, even though they had never even met any senior government representatives.
Liz Truss claimed the new Government’s "priorities" were to focus instead on a ban on conversion therapy and a planned conference on global LGBT rights.
It was the second time we had heard such a pledge from the Conservatives. To this day, neither of those so-called new "priorities" have been achieved. No conversion therapy ban and no conference on global LGBT rights. None of it happened. Absolutely none of it.
None of it happened. Absolutely none of it. The local elections on May 7th 2026 give you an opportunity to make your voice heard. Don't vote for the failed Tories, don't even consider LGBT hating Reform, and don't waste your vote on candidates who'll never get into power. Please make sure you use your vote wisely. REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR PHOTO ID to your local polling station. Don't leave it to others - Make your voice heard! |
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Other Election Features on OutUK: Why you need to vote in the upcoming local elections to protect your LGBT rights |