At a time of much progress, Britain faces a future with a Prime Minister who is anti-LGBT rights
On the evening of Thursday 7 July 2016, Conservative Party MPs whittled down the prospective candidates for leadership of the party, and consequently the United Kingdom’s next Prime Minister, to a final two; current Home Secretary Theresa May, and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom.
Whilst this outcome should be heralded as a victory for equality, in that our country is guaranteed to have its only second female Prime Minister in its history, the record of both candidates on LGBT+ rights represents a grave risk at a time when great advancements have been made in this area.
Looking at the record of Energy Minister Mrs Leadsom first, she has allegedly stated that she was not pleased that our last parliament voted to legislate for same-sex marriage, as it is hurtful to Christians. Any theological doctrine will undoubtedly and unequivocally lend itself to a range of interpretations, and of course Mrs Leadsom’s interpretation of the teachings of Christianity must be respected. However, this does not mean that we are not in a position to challenge it, and challenge it we must. As a Christian myself, I believe that my religion professes that we should love one another first, and to deny an individual the right to love the person they do using religion as a basis for defence is to encroach upon an individual’s fundamental human rights.
Mrs Leadsom has also recently been associated with a Ugandan group which aims to ‘cure’ the sexual orientations of homosexual people. She is believed to have organised exchange trips for the group in question, and in 2013, publicly supported the group in the House of Commons, heralding them as a “fantastic youth centre”. It is such thinking which has led to an increased prevalence of mental health difficulties among LGBT+ people. When an LGBT+ person is told that the way they feel is somehow ‘wrong’, and that they should try to either contain or change the way they feel, of course this is going to lend itself to an increased likelihood of mental health difficulties, when we should instead be encouraging them to be the person they are and to love the person they do.
Turning now to Theresa May, the longest-serving Home Secretary in recent years and, if both bookmakers and the overwhelming support she was lent by her fellow MPs are to believed, the most likely candidate to succeed David Cameron as our next Prime Minister, Mrs May’s record on LGBT+ rights also raises some cause for consternation. For example, she voted against the reduction of the age of consent between same-sex couples, against the repeal of Section 28 (which prohibited the promotion of homosexuality in schools), against permitting same-sex couples to adopt, and against civil partnerships. Under her watch as Home Secretary, she has also established policies which compel LGBT+ asylum seekers to ‘prove’ their sexuality, often through degrading and dehumanising means.
Mrs May appears to have undergone somewhat of a transformation in recent years, and has dramatically altered her position on same-sex rights. In 2012, prior to the vote held in the House of Commons to legislate for same-sex marriage, she announced in a video message that she supported this policy. Whether this change represents a radical volte-face, or an attempt to soften her image and broaden her appeal ahead of the leadership challenge which has now come to fruition remains to be seen. However, what is sure is, from the above, it is evident that our next Prime Minister’s position on the advancement of LGBT+ rights will not be entirely in keeping with the views held by society at large.
It should be anticipated that our next Prime Minister will not seek to roll-back any of the progressive advancements which have been made in recent years when she comes to power. However, should any such challenge to these rights be presented, it will be incumbent upon opposition parties to hold the new Prime Minister to account, to ensure that our cherished LGBT+ rights remain protected.
After all, the protection of these rights it is what both the LGBT+ people of the United Kingdom, and our progressive country as a whole, deserve.
