2 more MPs e out as gay to take Hoe of Commons total to 35 | Daily Mail Onle

Contents:

• JOHNSON HAS LGBT 'BLD SPOT', SAYS FIRST OPENLY GAY BET MISTER
• THE UK’S PARLIAMENT IS STILL THE GAYT THE WORLD AFTER 2019 ELECTN
• GAY MPS: THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT SHOWS WTMSTER'S ATTU TOWARDS LGBT POLICIANS IS CHANGG
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• THE QUIET REVOLUTN: WHY BRA HAS MORE GAY MPS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE
• PRI AND PARLIAMENT: WHAT DO PRI MONTH MEAN FOR MEMBERS OF THE GAYT PARLIAMENT THE WORLD?
• THE UK HAS ELECTED THE ‘GAYT PARLIAMENT THE WORLD’: 8% SAY THEY’RE GAY OR BISEXUAL
• 2 MORE MPS E OUT AS GAY TO TAKE HOE OF COMMONS TOTAL TO 35

JOHNSON HAS LGBT 'BLD SPOT', SAYS FIRST OPENLY GAY BET MISTER

Media ptn, Lord Chris Smh talks about the language he wnsed parliament the 1990sBoris Johnson has a "bld spot" when to appotg LGBT+ people to his top team, the UK's first openly gay bet mister has Chris Smh, who was a member of Tony Blair's first bet 1997, said was a "matter of great regret" that there were currently no out bet urged the PM to diversify his top team "the next year or two". A ernment spokman said Mr Johnson was mted to improvg UK parliament now has s hight ever proportn of lbian, gay and bisexual MPs, cludg two non-bet misters, although there are no openly transgenr members of parliament. Lord Smh, who was also the first openly gay male MP after g out 1984, said electg a trans member of parliament was a "glass ceilg" yet to be broken.

THE UK’S PARLIAMENT IS STILL THE GAYT THE WORLD AFTER 2019 ELECTN

"In terms of lbians and gay men I thk the glass ceilg Parliament has well and tly been broken, " he said an terview to mark LGBT+ History month. " Chris Smh's reerImage source, PA MediaImage ptn, Smh promot Brish film at Cann 1999A leadg figure New Labour, who beme an MP for a North London nstuency 1983The followg year, at a gay rights rally Rugby, Warwickshire, he said: "My name is Chris Smh. I'm the Labour MP for Islgton South and Fsbury, and I'm gay"Smh's unscripted announcement - which earned a standg ovatn - was the first time a gay MP had chosen to e outLabour's Mreen Colquhoun - a pneerg femist whose ath at the age of 92 was announced earlier this month - had been open about her sexualy the 1970s, after the Daily Mail revealed she was a relatnship wh another womanIn 1997, Smh was appoted culture secretary, wh rponsibily for the Millennium Dome, the creative dtri and troducg ee mm entryHe later served as head of the Environment Agency, after steppg down as an MP 2005 and enterg the Hoe of LordsJte Greeng who was the first and, as thgs stand, only out lbian bet mister thks 's more of a "pipele" issue - that not as many LGBT+ MPs have risen through the ranks as had been Greeng served Thera May's Conservative bet, as tn secretary and equali mister, alongsi Secretary of State for Stland, David Munll, who also me out while office.

He urged Mr Johnson to "look to the greater talent that is out there and will clu some people who happen to be lbian or gay". Levels of gay, bi and lbian reprentatn the UK parliament have remaed stable at the electn after a Tory surge.

The Sttish Natnal Party now has the hight proportn of gay, bi and lbian reprentatn of any party parliament, at 21 per cent, while 5.

GAY MPS: THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT SHOWS WTMSTER'S ATTU TOWARDS LGBT POLICIANS IS CHANGG

Sign up for the View om Wtmster email for expert analysis straight to your boxGet our ee View om Wtmster emailOne of the most remarkable, yet pleasg, statistics that fascated polil number-cnchers at last year’s electn was that the Hoe of Commons end up wh 32 lbian, gay and bisexual MPs.

LGBT History Month is celebrated Febary – and this photograph of 28 MPs and peers is a b of history self, as is the largt number of publicly out parliamentarians pictured together at one time, om a parliament wh more gay members than any the Barll, who prevly worked for the then First Mister of Stland, Alex Salmond, said: “I only me out to myself and to my fay durg the electn. Lord Chris Smh is the picture – he was the first openly gay MP the 1980s and also the first to be appoted to the bet when he beme Culture Secretary 1997. 10 Ia Stewart The Milton Keyn South MP is a former puty chairman of LGBTory, and won plds for a speech durg the last parliament on how he was bullied at school for beg gay.

The pneers of LGBT rights 2015Show all 611 Chris Smh, Baron Smh of Fsbury As pla Chris Smh the 1980s, he ma history by beg the first openly gay man the Commons. 13 Stuart Andrew Parliamentary private secretary to the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughl, he told the Commons three years ago of how he was once “beaten unnsc” a homophobic attack. 16 Brian Paddick, Baron Paddick of Brixton The two-time Liberal Democrat ndidate for London mayor was prevly famo for beg the untry’s most senr openly gay police officer.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

19 Waheed Alli, Baron Alli of Norbury The 51-year-old is an openly gay Mlim who ma his fortune the media dtry before beg a peer 1998.

21 Mart Docherty Somethg of an extrovert, the SNP MP for Wt Dunbartonshire arrived at this photoshoot askg, loudly, “Where are the gays? 23 David Munll The Secretary of State for Stland beme the first ever openly gay Conservative bet mister last month, a cisn he said was “one of the most important” of his life.

26 Stewart McDonald The Glasgow South SNP MP, a member of the Commons Transport Select Commtee, clared his party to be the “gayt group Wtmster” last year, wh 12 per cent out. as lbian, gay, bisexual, trans, tersex, queer or wh another mory sexual. At the time, homosexualy was still crimalised Tasmania.

THE QUIET REVOLUTN: WHY BRA HAS MORE GAY MPS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE

homosexual acts had been abolished Atralia, but long jail sentenc and. barrier, that you n be gay and even be a member of the Atralian Parliament. I am the natn’s first openly-gay.

I am young; I am gay; I am black, a. ‘“I’m gay”: MP go public, now tongu are waggg’, The Sydney Morng.

equaly “not the be all and end all” says new gay NSW Liberal MP’, Star. newt gay MP supports marriage equaly but won’t be headg down the aisle’,. gay jt feels normal here”: Perth’s most popular suburbs for same sex upl.

PRI AND PARLIAMENT: WHAT DO PRI MONTH MEAN FOR MEMBERS OF THE GAYT PARLIAMENT THE WORLD?

‘Gay. Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny. Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab".

"We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May. The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law.

THE UK HAS ELECTED THE ‘GAYT PARLIAMENT THE WORLD’: 8% SAY THEY’RE GAY OR BISEXUAL

Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy. "The bill will propose a total ban on what the Wt lls sex-reassignment prcriptns and procr, and prohib all activi that promote homosexualy, terms of... Gay paras, drag shows, wearg the lours, the flags, the emblems of the LGBTQ group, " Mr Kaluma says.

Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn.

2 MORE MPS E OUT AS GAY TO TAKE HOE OF COMMONS TOTAL TO 35

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia". "It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says. FWI's Mormon founr Sharon Slater ni that the group promot anti-gay laws Ai.

She c a Uned Natns Populatn Fund (UNFPA) manual for out-of-school youths east and southern Ai, sayg promot homosexualy and is too explic. "It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy".

Sign up for the View om Wtmster email for expert analysis straight to your boxGet our ee View om Wtmster emailBrish voters returned a rerd number of LGBTQ MPs to Parliament the general gay, lbian or bi MPs were elected on Thursday – six more than the prev SNP registered the largt proportn of LGBTQ elected members s parliamentary party, wh seven of s 35 MPs intifyg as such. Dpe the apparent progrs, chari have lled for polil parti to be more announcement that Thera May would form a new ernment wh support om Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unnist Party (DUP) raised ncerns om LGBT and women’s rights DUP, one of the most socially nservative parti Europe, has fought to mata tight rtrictns on abortn and oppos gay marriage. Stephen Twigg was gay – a “practisg homosexual”, to e a formula still popular at the time – and though mours about Michael Portillo’s sexualy had been swirlg for years, he was most fely not.