Trans+ people in the UK are experiencing continued intensified violence from the supposed left-wing Labour Government. These include the Sullivan Review, the Cass Report and recent Supreme Court ruling, that are legally trying to frame transness as unnatural, evil and an indoctrination of children, especially Autistic children.
Due to this many Pride Events across the UK decided to disallow political party presence at their events this year. Political parties were not allowed to march under their banners, have stands or be “sponsors”. This was a huge show of solidarity from the wider LGBTQIA+ community.
On garden parties: Complicity and canapes
Despite all of this violence several LGBT+ organisations – LGBT Foundation, London Friend, Switchboard and Stonewall – took up the (PR) opportunity to go to a garden party at the Prime Ministers residence.
It is not unusual for Ministers to ask LGBT+ organisations to such events. Wes Streeting lead a ‘reset’ meeting last year which was said to highlight the “wrongs” experienced by trans+ people and the wider LGBTQIA+. Shortly after this reset Wes Streeting declared that “trans women are not women” and pushed through the puberty-blocker ban citing the usual “protection of children”. Despite the Labour party shredding funding for social groups for disabled young people. Not to mentioned the puberty-blocker ban severely effecting the mental health of gender diverse and gender questioning young people who often wait many years to be offered support.
Having been used for pink-washing at last year’s ‘reset’ four LGBT organisations LGBT Foundation, London Friend, Switchboard and Stonewall decided they would join the Prime Minister at a little wine and canapé party. All very civilised.
Surrounded by bunting of the non-progress Pride flag (no intersex, trans+, or Black and POC representation here please!), Kier Starmer gave a speech. So too did the members of the four LGBT organisations. Notably several of the speakers from these groups have OBEs.
This party was a supposed celebration of 50 years of the LGBT Foundation. Hosted by Kier who has given up hiding his transphobia behind his homosexuality and is now wantingly harming trans+, intersex and gender non-conforming people, disabled people and “illegal immigrants”. The ways in which Starmer is harmful, incompetent, and abhorrent are too many to detail. This was also a celebration of 50 years of LGBT Labour. SIGH.
So, why did these groups go to a soiree paid for by public money, to drink champagne with Ministers who openly hate and deny trans+ adults and children? There are only two reasons: 1) total naivety (unlikely for charities going for 50 years and headed by LGBT elders), 2) they want to make their OBEs into MBEs. Perhaps they think that by being the good homosexuals that they are somehow unlikely to feel the pain of this government’s hatred, or they foolishly believe that they can change the course of current history. The delusion is real.
Having enjoyed some lovely food and company (there are pictures with these organisation members smiling with these people). The LGBT Foundation decided to share a celebratory, boot-licky post across their social media pages:
Image description: Two dark mode screenshots from the LGBT Foundation LinkeIn post dated 2 days ago (17th June). The first image has white text on a black background. The second is white text on a black background and then tiled pictures of LGBT Foundation members grinning on the steps of 10 Downing Street. Smaller pictures show a sneak peak at a gallery to the right.
[Alt text of images (this is how you do alt text LGBT Foundation!)]
Last night at 10 Downing Street’s Fifty & Fabulous Pride Reception, LGBT Foundation was recognised and celebrated as one of three organisations turning 50, alongside the fantastic Switchboard – National LGBTQ+ Support Line and London Friend – In a garden of many talented sector peers advocating for equality, we heard inspiring speeches from our CEO Paul Martin OBE, Stephanie Fuller (CEO of Switchboard), Monty Moncrieff (CEO of Friend) and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
It was a momentous occasion to acknowledge how far we’ve all come, the challenges still ahead and our commitment to working together to create lasting, meaningful change for LGBTQIA+ communities.
As the Prime Minister said, it was “not a privilege for [us] to be there, but a right” – we are hopeful that we will continue to see ourselves in spaces like this so we can make LGBTQ+ issues and voices a priority for this government’s agenda. Thank you for the invitation to work alongside you and for recognising the groundbreaking work of our organisations over the last fifty years – there is still much more to come and we can achieve much more, together.
Photographs inside Downing Street by Simon Dawson.
[Alt text ends]
After some very intense and valid responses to this post (I’ve shared some of my favourites at the end of this piece). The four groups have created a joint statement, shared across social media platforms mostly by the LGBT Foundation. The statement is patronising, invalidating, and passive aggressive. The most disgusting part is their using the rightful distrust in the government during the AIDS crisis to suggest we work together now. This is a vile betrayal to all the queer people lost to AIDS and those still living with HIV and AIDS. These lives are not to be used to cement friendships and trust with Kier Starmer.
The statement shares “Engagement isn’t the same as endorsement, presence isn’t the same as compliance. But we must find a path forward together.” (Dis)respectfully: no. These important conversations did not, and should not, have been at a little gathering in the sunshine of No.10’s garden. This was not an exchange in a political space, this was going to a friend’s party.
These compliant assimilationists have been used to prop-up Starmer’s anti-queer rhetoric by gathering, taking photos and a being part of a “I don’t hate LGBT people, honest” video. A mere day after this little gathering Kier has pushed through a Section 28-esque policy in which teachers cannot talk about gender identity in schools. A gender-critical (AKA transphobic) person has the potential to be chosen as the new EHRC chair.
To these organisations: enjoy your MBEs, whilst the rest of us are denied care, killed in parks, forced into conversion therapy and denied access to public toilets. May the canapés turn to dust in your mouths.
My favourite responses to the LGBT Foundation posts
“It’s increasingly feeling like Igbtq+ charities and pride events no longer have the interest of the community at their core. It’s all becoming very ‘nothing controversial please’”
“Turning up to Starmer’s photo op off brand LG(B) “pride” event at downing Street to help him pretend he’s less of a bigot, and being surprised that the Igbtqia+ community is upset about this so you post a 6 page statement that could be summed up by the “am I out of touch?” Principal Skinner meme”
“UK pride groups capitulation to and collaborating with a government that is desperately trying to kill them or shove them in the closet is unbearably bleak.”
“They should [rebrand] as LGBTQ Foundation… but the T stands for Timid & the Q is for Quisling.”
“LGBTQIA+ orgs need to learn to recognise a cynical pinkwashing exercise for what it is.
“Labour needed you to provide a happy smiling cover to mask their anti-trans agenda for a 1min vid rejecting the now standard progress flag and all it represents. You obliged, at the cost of your own reputations.”
“Where you all shitfaced when you wrote that”
Whilst you’re here
Reading University has created an anti-trans policy involving who can use ‘single-sex’ spaces Sign in support of trans, intersex and gender non-conforming staff and students here.