LGBT+ Liberal Democrats 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

In January 2007, @libdems.org.uk Leader Ming Campbell voiced his support for same-sex couples to foster and adopt.

In the same month, Lib Dem Lords advocated banning discrimination based on sexual orientation when purchasing goods and services, which eventually became law.

Menzies Campbell, 1941-2025, in white on a black background, with Ming's sombre Parliamentary portrait picture in the centre, and the party logo in white at the bottom.

Ming Campbell was one of the most influential Lib Dems of the last few decades - his opposition to the Iraq War inspired a whole generation of Lib Dems to join, and his allyship on LGBT+ matters was always both strong, and appreciated.

He was also remarkably kind. We will miss him.

Well done to Chris!

YES! Chris is a fantastic councillor and advocate for her community. It's a thoroughly deserved award, and good to see HQ having no truck with any nonsense about it. Well done, Chris!

You do realise that we're just ordinary people who want to be able to take the bins out and nip to the loo while out shopping without random weirdos demanding to know what's in our pants, right?

Not what we're hearing on the doorstep, and our people are knocking on lots of doors.

For those who pay attention to UK politics, the Liberal Democrats and #LDConf

A bunch of TERFs tried first thing this morning to impose a transphobic policy on our internal elections (they wanted to exclude trans women from the gender balance criteria)

They failed, spectacularly.

Glad to see that @libdems.org.uk Conference had no more patience for hate on the agenda than it did last time. We, and Conference, saw that amendment for what it was. Thank you to everyone who voted.

The arrest of four people after this incident is an outrageous affront to the freedom of expression enjoyed by UK citizens. It is a human right we all enjoy and is protected in law.
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As in, are we against proposals from known transphobes to strip non-binary folks and trans women out of our committee quotas? Hmm. Let us think about that for a second.
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...However, debate requires that both sides act in good faith, and we do not believe that applies to the Mail and many other mainstream media outlets at present, especially on trans+ issues.

We trust our response speaks for itself.
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...We know many Lib Dems, and people in society generally, believe we should debate people who seek to restrict trans rights, and we agree that debate is a fundamental and vital part of politics...
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...This group, which would like to be affiliated with the Lib Dems, is attempting to remove non-binary representation from our committee gender-balancing rules, and to try to force the party to use Sex Assigned at Birth instead...
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Text of an email response to a censored @dailymail.co.uk address. It states in summary that because the Daily Mail is one of the main protagonists of the anti-trans movement in British media, our co-chair has no faith that any response will be presented in a fair or balanced manner, and declines to comment further. It is significantly politer than the first initial draft.

Yesterday, we received an email from a Daily Mail journalist asking us to comment on the attempt by a trans-exclusionary group to change our party's rules. For the avoidance of doubt, or misrepresentation of our position, we reproduce our response in full here...
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Thank you @wendychambld.bsky.social and the many other @libdems.org.uk MPs who are signing this letter. Room for more signatures! 👀

Thank you, @charlotte-cane-mp.bsky.social and @lisasmartmp.bsky.social. 💛

Ed Davey Text Quote Graphic. Text on Screen: The European Convention on Human Rights is a British creation that protects all our basic rights and freedoms. Children, disabled people, survivors of domestic abuse, victims of horrible crimes - everyone. While other party leaders talk about leaving it, rewriting it or watering it down, Liberal Democrats stand firm.

The ECHR is a British creation that protects all.

It's shocking that other parties such as the Tories and Reform talk about leaving it, rewriting it or watering it down, Liberal Democrats stand firm

A huge well done to Rebecca for her work on this, and thank you for JPAC to listening to her concerns.

While the NHS is complaining of blood donation shortages, it should not be inventing barriers for LGBT+ folks who are willing to donate.

Question time: As Labour breaks promises to LGBTQs, who will be our voice in Westminster? Over the last year, Labour and much of the UK government has shifted to a less supportive position of queer people. Here, Attitude examines the policies of all of the political parties

"On a national level, I think the only party that is walking the walk when it comes to LGBTQIA+ rights are the Liberal Democrats." - an Independent councillor.

There's always more to do. Thanks to everyone helping us and the @libdems.org.uk do it. 💛

www.attitude.co.uk/main-stories...

Why are UK trans people upset? I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset. In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia. In 2005 I started medical transition. For the state to recognise this I ha...

If you have wondered why trans people (and many others) were so upset by the supreme court ruling earlier this year, this article from Sarah Brown explains it well: www.libdemvoice.org/why-are-uk-t...

Go, @readinglibdems.bsky.social! Great to join you for the day!

If you were part of the fight to get same sex marriage passed – thank you, from all of us! 🌈

A celebratory graphic titled “12 years of ‘I do’!” featuring photos of same-sex couples, including several from the Liberal Democrats. The images show couples on their wedding days, hugging, smiling or attending events. The banner thanks Baroness Lynne Featherstone and campaigners who made same sex marriage a reality. It also thanks Lib Dem couples for sharing their photos. At the bottom is the LGBT+ Liberal Democrats logo and publishing details.

Today we celebrate 12 years since the @libdems.org.uk passed the Same Sex Marriage Act, with some lovely photos of our married and engaged Plus members.

Including our Chair, Charley, who’s getting married in October, and our Honorary Vice President, Adrian, who celebrates their 10th anniversary.

Portrait photographs of three smiling men, surrounded by greenery and yellow flowers.

Five years ago, the murders of David, James and Joe shocked Reading, and the world.

They were kind, popular members of our community taken from it far too soon. Today, Reading remembers them. Each of them made Reading that much better, and they are deeply missed.

Love from us to all who knew them.

Thank you to the 379 MPs, including 63 @libdems.org.uk MPs, who voted to uphold bodily autonomy today, and the rights of some of the most vulnerable women in society.

Thank you to Rebecca for writing this.

There's a (deliberate) disconnect between how trans+ folks and their close allies, and how cis people more widely, are experiencing this.

We in the LGBT+ Lib Dems are working on how we can close that gap and bring the reality home to the wider community.

This is an important article. Congratulations to Victoria on being voted #1 on the Independent Pride List too.

As in the 1950s, today's government proposes chemical castration only for certain sex offenders - so why on earth would *we* be concerned?

Alan Turing.

The authorities of his era decided that being LGBT+ was sufficient, after all. All it takes is a change in the law.

We say never again.
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But while things are different now, too many are the same. Pride Month is here, but it's needed more than ever. And 16 years after the last Labour Prime Minister apologised for the "appaling" way Turing was treated, the following Labour government is proposing bringing back chemical castration.
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A black and white photograph of a young Alan Turing, looking thoughtfully off to the left, wearing a jacket, shirt and tie, and with a side parting.

On the 7th of June, 1954, Alan Turing died. He was discovered the following day. His birthday would have been the 23rd of June. He had opted for chemical castration following his conviction for homsexuality and indecency.

Now, of course, we celebrate June as Pride Month.
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