LGBT+ History Month: Aaron Campbell Takes a Look at British LGBTQ+ History
- Remi Olokun
- Feb 23
- 6 min read
LGBT+ History Month takes place every year in February (in the UK at least), and is a chance for those of us in the community, as well as allies, to educate ourselves on the history of queer liberation and the incredible people who have (and still do) fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Queerness and politics, in my opinion, go hand in hand; LGBTQ+ identities are constantly politicised (often for the wrong reasons), not to mention the amount of queer people who have both quietly and loudly made an impact on politics and the UK as a whole. In this piece, I want to explore just a few of the landmark decisions and people who have influenced LGBTQ+ history within the UK. I would implore you all to do your own research and further readings on all things LGBTQ+ history (as well as the present), as it is by understanding, acknowledging and learning from the past that we can build a better future.
I think it's important to shed light on LGBTQ+ history UK specifically as it often goes under acknowledged, and while it’s important to learn about things like the Stonewall riots (and the fact that the modern global queer movement and pride was built by Black and Brown Trans women - a point we should never forget) we also have many incredible people and stories on our own shores to highlight and share.
While queer people have existed throughout history, much of queer liberation in politics as we currently understand it started around 60/70 years ago, prior to thi,s policies like the 1533 Buggery Act or the 1885 Labouchere Amendment made being queer functionally illegal. Although there were often rumours/speculation of people in positions of power/authority being LGBTQ+, like Queen Anne and Sarah Jennings, the Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, as well as Sophia Jex–Blake (the first practising female doctor in Scotland) and medical writer Dr Margaret Todd.
In the early 50s The Wolfenden Committee, chaired by Lord Wolfenden, was formed, which sought law reform around homosexuality and sex work. In 1957, they published a report with recommendations that, a decade later, were partially implemented by the Sexual Offences Act of 1967. The act decriminalised “homosexual acts” between consenting adult men in privat,e specifically in England. The age of consent between men was set at 21 (Sex between women went deliberately unaddressed).
In 1964, Allan Horsfall (often referred to as the grandfather of the gay rights movement for openly advocating as a gay man during a time when homosexuality was still illegal) helped to form the North Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee (NWHLRC), and he even used his own address as the base for the group. They worked to promote legal and social equality for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, and their efforts had a direct impact on the eventual decriminalisation of homosexuality.
In 1970, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was founded to challenge homophobia and promote LGBTQ+ rights and pride. They often held demonstrations against things like police harassment, and they also organised the first official Gay Pride in London in 1972 on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The group had many notable members, including Olive Morris and Liz Turnbull, who were also members of the Brixton Black Panthers.
In 1976, then Labour MP for Northampton North, Maureen Colquhoun, became Britain’s first openly lesbian MP. As a result, she was deselected from parliament in 1977 due to her sexuality, but appealed the decision and remained an MP until losing her seat in the 1979 election. She was a huge and influential campaigner for LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, even introducing a bill designed to protect sex workers, and bringing 50 female workers to the committee room for its first reading as well as campaigning for abortion rights during a time when this was unheard of.
In 1984, Mark Ashton founded the activist group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) after he and his friend Mike Jackson collected donations for striking miners during the Pride march in London. This also marked the first shift to Labour supporting Gay Rights as part of their policies, which at the time was huge. Mark unfortunately died in 1987.
In the same year, Chris Smith (Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury) became the first openly gay MP as well as the first to publicly acknowledge his status as HIV-positive in 2005. During his time as a politician, he was involved with landmark policies including the equalisation of the age of consent, the abolishment of Section 28 and the introduction of civil partnerships, and even after retiring has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
Between the 60’s and 80’s, the journey of queer liberation continued to march ever forward with increasing wins. 1988 saw one of the UK’s most infamous acts come into place with Section 28. This banned the “teaching or promoting homosexuality” as a “pretended family relationship”, the act which wasn’t repealed until 2003, silenced many queer voices and made talking about being queer or LGBTQ+ issues practically illegal. In response to this act, Stonewall UK (now the largest LGBTQ+ organisation in Europe) was founded, with notable founders including Sir Ian McKellen, Lisa Power MBE, and Lord Cashman CBE.
Despite the major apparent setback the fight for LGBTQ+ right and equality continued, and in 1992 the World Health Organisation made the long overdue decision to no longer classify homosexuality as a mental illness, and then in 2003 alongside the repealing of section 28 after years of campaigning the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations was introduced which made it illegal to discriminate in the workplace based on someone’s sexuality. This was then followed up in 2004 by the Gender Recognition Act (2004) which allowed transgender people to affirm their gender through new birth certificates, ensuring access to legal documentation that matched their gender identity. Then in 2013 same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales after many years of campaigning.
During the 2000’s and early 2010’s, there were many great LGBTQ+ activists in the UK, including Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, also known as Lady Phyll, who advocated for queer rights as well as anti-racism. She co-founded UK Black Pride as a way to bring together LGBTQ+ people from across the Black and Brown diaspora. She also still serves as the Executive Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust, a charity that advocates for the human rights of LGBT people in countries where they face discrimination.
Even though all I have described above only provides a snapshot of the history of queerness in politics in the UK and a few of the people instrumental in changemaking for LGBTQ+ people, I always encourage people to spend time and do their own research and discover the incredible stories and bravery, resilience and impact that have helped to shape the current landscape of the UK.
In the same way, I feel it is important to highlight modern history and those making history today. There are many people currently out there continuing to fight for LGBTQ+ rights that will eventually be in tomorrow's history books. I think of the likes of Suzy Izzard, who, after a successful career as a comic and actor, has spent the majority of the 2020’s campaigning for trans rights and even running to be an MP.
Another person who comes to mind and has seen a lot of attention recently is the leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, who is an outspoken activist for many different issues on both the world and local stage. He is also an open and proud gay man and a champion and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights even throwing a campaigning party in one of the UK’s most famous gay nightclubs (some might say MLMLS hosting a politics event in a nightclub, which he spoke at, might have given him the idea for this, but who's to say) and was recently voted as Attitude 101 LGBTQ+ Trailblazer of the Year.
For me, Zack, as well as all the open and out politicians and MPs across the political spectrum, are proof of how far we have come thanks to the incredible hard work and sacrifice of those who came before. It is important to recognise, however, that much more needs to be done to achieve true queer liberation, including standing together as members of the community and allies against those who would seek to take us back in time on queer rights. We must stand together against hate and discrimination, as well as continue the fight that has been happening for a long time now. I myself will continue to be my authentic self and fight for what I believe in because I know: if you don’t do politics, politics will do you.
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