List of the first openly LGBT holders of political offices in the United Kingdom

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See also: List of the first LGBT holders of political offices

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342 MSM activity made illegal
1533 Death penalty introduced for MSM activity
1543 Buggery Act extended to Wales
1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1828
1835 James Pratt and John Smith executed
1861 Death penalty for buggery abolished
1885 Labouchere Amendment introduced
1889 Cleveland Street scandal
1895 Oscar Wilde found guilty of gross indecency
1912 The Cave of the Golden Calf opens
1921 Plans to make lesbian activity illegal defeated
1936 Mark Weston transitions
1952 John Nott-Bower begins crackdown
1954 Pitt-Rivers, Montagu, Wildeblood imprisoned
1954 Alan Turing commits suicide
1957 Wolfenden report released
1967 MSM activity made legal (England & Wales)
1972 First British Gay Pride Rally
1976 Jeremy Thorpe resigns as Liberal leader
1981 MSM activity made legal (Scotland)
1981 First case of AIDS reported in the UK
1982 MSM activity made legal (NI)
1983 Gay men barred from donating blood
1984 Chris Smith elected as first openly gay MP
1987 Operation Spanner begins
1988 Section 28 comes into force
1989 Stonewall UK forms
1994 Age of consent for MSM becomes 18
1997 Angela Eagle becomes first openly lesbian MP
1998 Bolton 7 found guilty
1998 Lord Alli becomes first openly gay Lord
1999 Admiral Duncan bombing
2000 Gay men allowed in HM Armed Forces
2001 Age of consent equalised to 16
2001 MSM activity involving multiple men legal
2002 Same sex couples granted equal rights to adopt
2003 Section 28 repealed
2004 Civil partnerships introduced
2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004
2006 Discrimination made illegal
2008 Equalised access to IVF for lesbian couples
2008 Incitement to homophobic hatred made a crime
2009 Public apology to Alan Turing
2010 Equality Act 2010
2011 Gay men allowed to donate blood (1 yr deferral)
2013 Nikki Sinclaire becomes first openly trans MEP
2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
2014 First same-sex marriages take place
2016 MSM activity not grounds for military discharge
2017 Turing law implemented
2017 Blood donation deferral 3 months (excl. NI)
2019 MPs legislate for gay marriage in NI
2020 Gay marriage legal across UK, incl. NI
2020 Blood donation deferral 3 months (incl. NI)
2021 Blood donation deferral equalised
 LGBT portal

The following is a list of the first openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender individuals to serve in selected political offices in the United Kingdom.

Party leaderships[edit]

UK Cabinet[edit]

British Parliament[edit]

House of Commons[edit]

  • 1597, First known LGBTQ+ Member of Parliament[8]
  • 1976, First outed (female) MP[9]
  • 1984, First MP to come out in office[10]
  • May 1997, First MPs to be out before being elected
  • Sep 1997, First female MP to come out in office[13]
  • June 2001, First out Plaid Cymru MP[3]
  • 2002, First Conservative MP to come out[14]
  • Jan 2005, First MP to come out as HIV positive[5]
  • May 2005, First out Liberal Democrat MP[15]
  • May 2005, First Conservative MP to be out before being elected[16]
  • Jan 2006, First MP to be outed as bisexual[17]
  • May 2006, First MP to enter into a civil partnership[18]
  • 2008, First female MP to enter into a civil partnership[19]
  • 2010, First female MP to be out before being elected, and first out Conservative female MP[20]
  • December 2010, First out Deputy Speaker
    • Nigel Evans, First Chairman of Ways and Means 2010–2013, Second Chairman of Ways and Means 2020–present[21]
  • 2013, First MP to voluntarily come out as bisexual[22]
  • 2015, First MP to be out as bisexual before being elected; First female MP to be out as bisexual[23]
  • 2020, First MP to come out as pansexual[24]
  • 2021, First female Conservative MP to be openly bisexual[25]
  • 2022, First MP to come out as trans[26]

House of Lords[edit]

European Parliament[edit]

  • Jan 1999, First out UK MEP[29]
    • Tom Spencer, Conservative, MEP 1979–1984, 1989–1999
  • Jun 1999, First UK MEP to be out before office[30]
  • 2013, First openly transgender UK MEP[31]
    • Nikki Sinclaire, UK Independence Party (later Independent), MEP 2009–2014
  • 2019, First gay and black UK MEP[32]

Scottish Parliament[edit]

Scottish Government[edit]

Senedd[edit]

Northern Ireland Assembly[edit]

Police and crime commissioner[edit]

Directly elected mayors[edit]

Municipal offices[edit]

England[edit]

Bolton
Brighton & Hove City Council
  • First out committee chair and group leader Paul Elgood (1999–2012)
Bristol
  • First out Trans councillor and first to transition while holding elected public office: Rosalind Mitchell (1997) [47]
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Camden
  • First openly gay Mayor and Mayoress (2010–2011): Jonathan Simpson and Amy Lamé[49]
Croydon
  • First openly gay Mayor, Wayne Trakas-Lawlor with his husband as Consort(2016-2017):[50][51]
Durham
  • First openly gay councillor in the UK and first known openly gay candidate for UK elected office: Sam Green (1972)
Essex – Epping Forest District Council
  • Gavin Chambers (2012–present), mayor of the parish council (2012–2013)[52][53]
Hackney
Islington
  • Mayor: Robert Crossman (1986)[56]
Kingston upon Hull
  • Lord Mayor: Colin Inglis (elected 2011) Council Leader 2003–2005, Police Authority Chair 2000–2005[57]
Liverpool
Manchester
Salford
  • First openly gay Mayor: Paul Dennett[60]
Sheffield
Trafford
Haslemere, Surrey
  • First openly gay deputy mayor: Sahran Abeysundara (elected 2015)[63]
  • First openly gay mayor: Sahran Abeysundara (elected 2016)[63]

London[edit]

Greater London Authority
Southwark
  • First openly gay mayor: Jeff Hook:[66]
Camden
  • First openly gay mayor: Jonathan Simpson (elected 2010)[67]
Richmond
  • Mayor: Marc Cranfield-Adams (2007)[68]

Wales[edit]

Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
  • First openly lesbian mayor, with her partner as mayoress: Jaci Taylor (2000–2001), Plaid Cymru.[69][70]

Rhondda Cynon Taf

  • First openly gay cabinet member Layton Percy Jones (Plaid Cymru). Cabinet Member for Social Services 1999–2005[71]
Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
  • First openly gay mayor, first mayor in a civil partnership: Guy Woodham (2012–2013)[72][73]
  • First openly gay mayor and deputy mayor: William Elliott (mayor) and Colin Sharp (deputy mayor)[74]
Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent
  • First openly bisexual chairman of council, Julian Meek (2012–2013), Plaid Cymru.[75]
Bangor, Gwynedd

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sharlene, Sweeney (16 November 2008). "Greens get tougher edge as 'the man to watch' takes helm". The Times.
  2. ^ a b Brooks, Libby (28 September 2018). "Ruth Davidson: 'We're not as far along in the conversation about mental health as we think'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
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  4. ^ "Mandu Reid: The personal is political". DIVA. 29 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b Alleyne, Richard (31 January 2005). "MP reveals why he waited 17 years before admitting he was HIV-positive". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Minister says 'coming out was difficult'". 18 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  7. ^ Wilkinson, Michael; Mendick, Robert (25 June 2016). "Pro-EU minister Justine Greening reveals she is gay at London Pride saying 'sometimes you are better off out'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  8. ^ "BACON, Anthony (1558–1601), of Gorhambury, Herts. and Essex House, London. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  9. ^ "Maureen Colquhoun - Everything2.com". everything2.com.
  10. ^ Campbell, Denis (30 January 2005). "The pioneer who changed gay lives". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
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  44. ^ Keeling, Neal (6 May 2016). "A secretly gay teen in a violent home – Salford's new mayor shares his story". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  45. ^ "Councillor Philip Glanville makes history with midnight wedding". Hackney Citizen. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  46. ^ "Christine Alison Root". www.boltonsmayors.org.uk.
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  74. ^ William Elliott
  75. ^ Meek, J (2014). Entering Into the Mystery, Passion, Resurrection, Healing and Wholeness. Abertillery: Gaudete Books. – refers to the writer's work as a council chairman and LGBT Christian rights activist.
  76. ^ Ali, Joseph (13 May 2021). "Wales' first non-binary council mayor elected to represent Bangor". WalesOnline. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
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