‘I will not stop shouting’ about LGBT rights, says MP in ‘gayest Parliament’

An MP has warned that politicians in the UK, Europe and the US are trying to “tear down” protections for LGBT+ people, as she spoke to celebrate “the gayest Parliament in the world”.

Kate Osborne described receiving “horrific” abuse when she tried to arrange a pride event in her Jarrow and Gateshead East constituency near Newcastle, but promised the LGBT+ community “will not be pushed back in the closet”.

The MP, who said she came out as a lesbian 40 years ago, told the Commons on Thursday: “It’s an honour to be speaking in the main chamber in this Parliament, as Mr Speaker (Sir Lindsay Hoyle) told us the other night at his reception, the gayest Parliament in the world.

“LGBT History Month has never been more needed than it is right now, with politicians of all political stripes here in the UK, in Europe and of course, in America, trying to tear down the few protections LGBTQ+ have, attack our rights, and rewrite history.

“Our history and our activism needs to be shouted about. We will not be silenced.

“We will not be erased. We will not be pushed back in the closet and our history will be celebrated and remembered.

“We need people to continue to be brave enough to shout ‘I am here’.

“I’m a lesbian, and I’m saying that in the ‘mother of all Parliaments’, and I will not stop shouting about it.

“Diversity is what makes us wonderful, it gives us strength.

“‘Dyke’ is no longer an insult but a badge that I wear with pride, just like my ‘she/her’ pronoun badge.”

According to an independent website set up to record the number of LGBT+ MPs, at least 75 MPs identify as LGBT+.

The lgbt.mp website listed 66 MPs in the last parliament, before last year’s general election.

“We must celebrate our history and remind people that we have always been here, that trans people have always existed,” Ms Osborne said, speaking to mark LGBT+ History Month.

“But we also have to remember the lessons of our activism – remember and listen to those who lived those fights and learn from them in order to defend our community from this latest wave of attacks.”

She said she faced a “barrage of abuse” while helping to set up a pride event in Hebburn led by local campaigners.

Ms Osborne warned flags were “ripped down” and a newspaper removed an article about the event as a result of abusive comments.

She also said she and campaigners “received some horrific homophobic and lesbophobic abuse online and in real life”.

The MP added “note of caution around our Government’s own policy and rhetoric on puberty blockers”, saying: “I believe this decision is putting people’s health at risk.”

The Government introduced an indefinite ban on puberty blockers last year for children experiencing gender dysphoria after a review led by Baroness Cass found the quality of studies around their use was “poor”, with plans underway to set up a clinical trial.

Equalities minister Dame Nia Griffith had earlier said: “For most people under the age of 40, it’s almost inconceivable to imagine a society in which LGBT+ were not visible and integrated.

“Most, if not all of us, have LGBT+ family, friends and colleagues. In this very chamber, one in 10 members identify as LGBT+, a world record for any Parliament as far as we know.”

She later added: “As history shows us, progress is not static.

“New challenges will always emerge, and hard-won rights must not only be cherished but guarded.

“That’s why the Government is committed to upholding Britain’s long-standing record of protecting the rights of individuals, and ensuring the Equality Act protects everyone.

“But there are others who would gladly reverse this, returning to a time where discrimination was permissible, even empowered under the law.

“We must be ever mindful of such intentions and remember from our history why we do not wish to revisit such times. Lawful discrimination, Section 28, vilification and rejection by wider society are history, and they must remain such.”