Keir Mather: Gay Labour MP new ‘baby of the hoe’ - Attu

Contents:

• JOHNSON HAS LGBT 'BLD SPOT', SAYS FIRST OPENLY GAY BET MISTER
• FIRST OPENLY GAY MP SAYS G OUT 1980S WAS ‘ONE OF THE SRIT MOMENTS OF MY LIFE’
• THE PNEER WHO CHANGED GAY LIV
• PETER TATCHELL ON HIS BTAL 1983 BID TO BEE FIRST OUT GAY MAN ELECTED TO PARLIAMENT
• KEIR MATHER: PUBLICLY GAY LABOUR MP NEW ‘BABY OF THE HOE’ AFTER BY-ELECTN W
• THE TE STORY OF ‘A VERY ENGLISH SNDAL’ AND THE TRIALS OF A CLOSETED GAY POLICIAN
• THE QUIET REVOLUTN: WHY BRA HAS MORE GAY MPS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE
• KEY DAT FOR LBIAN, GAY, BI AND TRANS EQUALY

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.

" 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 was Bra's first openly gay MP, the first gay bet mister and is now the first polil figure to adm to beg HIV-posive, durg a reer which saw him bee one of the untry's key cisn-makers.

I'm the Labour MP for Islgton South and Fsbury, and I'm gay' was wh those words, his hands shakg as he spoke, that Smh fally publicly acknowledged the sexualy he had kept secret for a , and beme Bra's first MP to e out of the closet. His unparalleled honty earned him a five-mute standg was November 1984 and the then opposn spokman on Natnal Herage had accepted an vatn to addrs a prott meetg Rugby lled after the Conservative-n lol uncil had jt abandoned a policy which outlawed discrimatn on the grounds of New Labour won s first electn landsli 1997, Smh beme the first gay bet mister polil history when Tony Blair ma him Natnal Herage Secretary, although the so-lled 'Mistry of Fun' was renamed the Department of Culture, Media and Sport weeks was an advertent trailblazer. There have been other gay members of the Cabet sce, such as Peter Manlson and Nick Brown, and his g out of the closet 1984 undoubtedly helped pave the way for the many other homosexual MPs to follow su, cludg Labour's Ben Bradshaw and Chris Bryant and the Conservative Alan Dunn, who is still the only Tory MP to have open clared his characteristic loyalty, he sisted Natnal Herage Secretary was 'a wonrful job' and 'the most enjoyable role to have ernment'.

FIRST OPENLY GAY MP SAYS G OUT 1980S WAS ‘ONE OF THE SRIT MOMENTS OF MY LIFE’

He is also a keen fan of morn art, and adorned his office at the Department of Culture wh patgs, sculpture, an etchgs and several was a ernor of the Sadler's Wells Theatre his central London nstuency om 1987-1997 and, sce beg sacked om the bet 2001, has also served on the board of the crilly-acclaimed Donmar Warehoe theatre Soho, been chairman of the nsumer panel at Classic FM rad statn and been a visg profsor culture and the creative dtri at the London last month Ken Livgstone, the pal's mayor, appoted him as the chair of the London Cultural Consortium wh a brief to implement a ten-year plan to cement even further London's stat as a leadg world cy for Watford 1951 to Gladys, a mathematics teacher, and Col, a Whehall civil servant, Smh moved to Edburgh when he was ten when his father took up a new post at the Sttish 1988 he met Dorian Jabri, who then worked for the teacher trag agency, at a rally about Sectn 28, the ntroversial legislatn banng the 'promotn' of gay liftyl to schoolchildren. At the time, there had been jt one out gay MP history: Mreen Colquhoun, who was outed 1975 and subsequently saw off a selectn attempt (though she lost her seat the 1979 electn).

Peter Tatchell was already a noted gay rights activist when he threw his hat to the rg to bee the next Labour MP for Bermondsey southeast London a 1983 by-electn. Wh same-sex marriage now legal all parts of the UK, n sometime be easy to fet how different attus to homosexualy were the past, and how much change has taken place over the past 50 years.

THE PNEER WHO CHANGED GAY LIV

For hundreds of years gay people have stggled to be accepted and treated the same as people who are not fact wasn't until 1967, that two men were able to be a relatnship together whout the fear of beg stands for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr. Sometim appears wh Q, meang queer and +, which is an clive symbol to mean 'and others' to clu people of all history month tak place Febary each year, to help te people on lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr history, as well as the history of the gay and civil rights out more about some of those who have ma an impact both om the past and prent. Alan TurgAlan Turg was not a well known figure durg his lifetime, but today he is famo and celebrated for the ccial part he played the victory over Nazi Germany was a mathematician who cracked somethg lled the Enigma , which is thought to have shortened the war by several was also a victim of mid-20th Century attus to homosexualy and 1952 was arrted bee beg homosexual was illegal Bra at this 2013 he was pardoned for this 'crime', and 2017 the ernment agreed to officially pardon men acced of 'crim' like this, meang they will no longer have a crimal pardong has e to be known as the Alan Turg 2019 Turg was named the most "inic" figure of the 20th Century and his face now appears on the £50 note.

Osr WilImage source, Napoleon Sarony/Universal History ArchiveOsr Wil is one of the famo playwrights of all time, fact, you might even have studied 'The Importance of Beg Earnt' - one of his most famo plays - at was married to a woman and had two sons, but was later acced of beg homosexual. Johnson was an Ain Amerin transgenr-rights activist, whose work the 1960s and 1970s had a huge impact on the LGBT this time, beg gay was classified as a mental illns the Uned Stat.

PETER TATCHELL ON HIS BTAL 1983 BID TO BEE FIRST OUT GAY MAN ELECTED TO PARLIAMENT

Gay people were regularly threatened and beaten by police, and were shunned by many June 1969, when Marsha was 23 years old, police raid a gay bar New York lled The Stonewall Inn. Later the North Wt Commtee was transformed to the Campaign for Homosexual Equaly (CHE), which was the largt LGBT anisatn there has ever been the UK, wh more than 5, 000 members and 120 lol groups all over the untry when was at s 's role the removal of the stigma of crimaly om homosexualy remaed his crowng achievement.

KEIR MATHER: PUBLICLY GAY LABOUR MP NEW ‘BABY OF THE HOE’ AFTER BY-ELECTN W

He began his reer as a journalist before workg for MI6, and beg prcipal of Aberystwyth was asked to jo the ernment's mtee lookg to homosexual offenc which led to the Wolfenn Report, which remend that havg a homosexual relatnship should no longer be a crimal laid the foundatns for a later law which partially crimalised male homosexualy for the first time England and Wal.

Goronwy was scribed as the "most perceptive member of the mtee", and the one who succsfully argued that the mtee should take evince directly om homosexual men. Gilbert Baker was an Amerin artist, gay rights activist who signed the flag to have eight strip stead of the six normally seen first ma an appearance back 1978 and has bee associated wh LGBT rights all over the world. Chris SmhImage source, Getty ImagIn 1984 Chris Smh beme the UK's first male openly gay MP and later, the first gay bet announcg that he was gay, he received a five-mute standg ovatn.

THE TE STORY OF ‘A VERY ENGLISH SNDAL’ AND THE TRIALS OF A CLOSETED GAY POLICIAN

There have sce been lots of other gay bet are currently 54 LGBT MPs the Hoe of Commons, and 2015 was clared the gayt parliament the world due to s proportn of LGBT members. Jt FashanuImage source, Getty ImagJt Fashanu was Bra's first openly gay footballer, and although 30 years have passed he remas the only male footballer to reveal his sexualy while playg profsnally the top reer was gog well, havg risen through Norwich Cy's youth ranks and 1981 he beme the untry's most expensive black player wh his £1m move to Nottgham stunned the football world 1990 by when he told a newspaper he was gay.

But after this he didn't receive much support and suffered homophobic bullyg, as well as harassment om the tabloid died 1998 and was ducted to the Natnal Football Mm's Hall of Fame Feb 2020, wh his niece Amal Fashanu llg him "one of the bravt men I've ever e across". In 2019 he received France's hight civilian award, the Legn d'honnr, by Print Emmanuel Macron, who lled him one of the first gay artists to give a voice to the LGBT me out as bisexual a 1976 terview wh mic magaze Rollg Stone, and 1992 said he was and his partner David Furnish were among the first upl the UK to get a civil partnership 2005, when the law was changed to allow gay relatnships to be legally 2014, after gay marriage beme legal the UK the pair got married and have two sons born via on this story.

Tribut have been paid to Mreen Colquhoun, the UK’s first openly lbian MP, who has died at former Labour polician reprented Northampton North durg her five years parliament between 1974 and 1979 and was a proment mpaigner on accs to abortn, genr balance, and protectn for sex saw off efforts by some party members her nstuency to select her as a ndidate for the next general electn after the Daily Mail revealed she was a relatnship wh a an article for Gay News 1977, Colquhoun said her sexualy had “nothg whatever to do wh my abily to do my job as an MP”. She said she had always been open about her relatnship and that “gay relatnships were as valid and as entled to rpect as any other relatnship” appeal agast the move was upheld, but she lost her seat to a Conservative ndidate 1979. Part of the Schools Out UK project — self created as a rponse to the repeal of Sectn 28 of the Lol Government Act 1988, which prohibed the promotn of homosexualy and the publishg of any material that “promoted” homosexualy — aimed to te and spire.

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

1533 — The Buggery Act is passed by Parliament durg the reign of Henry VIIIThe 1533 Buggery Act is the first time law that male homosexualy was targeted for persecutn. A regular at molly ho (the equivalent of a gay bar) across London, there are no reports of Serapha ever beg Ambrosiana/Getty Imag1770s — Geiana, Duchs of Devonshire, be the first known lbianFemale homosexualy was not nsired a crimal offence, and as such, "evince" is often difficult to fd. 1861 — The Offenc Agast the Person Act is passedIn 1861, new legislatn replaced the Offenc Agast the Person Act of 1828, revokg the ath penalty for homosexual acts between men but replacg wh a prison term of hard labour.

1957 — The Wolfenn Report lls for the crimalisatn of gay sexThe Wolfenn Commtee was formed rponse to the arrts of Brish cryptographer Alan Turg ( 1952) and Lord Montagu of Beli ( 1954) unr the Crimal Law Amendment Act (which me to force 1885, see above).

KEY DAT FOR LBIAN, GAY, BI AND TRANS EQUALY

Eveng Standard/Getty Imag1972 — The Uned Kgdom’s first Gay Pri march tak placeThe Uned Kgdom’s Gay Liberatn Front held the first Gay Pri march London 1972. The Camn Lbian Centre operated for many years and hoed groups cludg the lbian disabily group GEMMA and Zamimass, a signifint Black lbian anisatn that promoted a Black lbian and gay sectn on the Pri march. 1982 — The Homosexual Offenc (Northern Ireland) Orr is passedThe crimalisatn of male homosexual acts Northern Ireland was largely thanks to the se of Jeff Dudgeon, a gay rights activist om Belfast, who filed a plat wh the European Commissn of Human Rights after beg terrogated by the Royal Ulster Constabulary about his sexual activy.

1984 — The Uned Kgdom’s first openly gay MP is Parliament Chris Smh has been stmental changg gay liv, beg the first openly gay MP 1984; he went on to bee the first gay bet mister and the first polil figure to adm to beg HIV-posive. 1985 — The Black Lbian and Gay Centre is tablishedThe Black Lbian and Gay Centre, created to provi advice, unselg, a library, and other rourc for the Black queer muny, received ernment fundg and was tablished. 1986 — The first issue of Black/Out magaze is publishedEded by Joseph Beam and published by the nonprof anisatn Natnal Coaln of Black Lbians and Gays, Black/Out was a quarterly magaze and the voice of the new movement of Black Lbians and Gays.