Luke Pollard MP Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Being gay isn’t a choice. To quote the immortal words of Lady Gaga, “baby, you’re born this way.” So, it is especially galling to see that Rishi Sunak has dropped his commitment to ban the cruel practice of conversion therapy, dropping the bill from this week’s pretty paltry King’s Speech.
I’ve repeatedly called for conversion therapy and conversion practices to banned. The PM ditching this promise encapsulates how the government is increasingly disregarding LGBT+ rights.
The government first promised a ban on conversion therapy in 2018, but there’s still no action. This is despite France, Germany, Canada, and Spain banning abusive practices within this time. The continued pattern of dither and delay results in only one outcome: more victims of conversion practices, week in, week out. More lives ruined, week in, week out.
This failure to tackle such heinous practices reflects, and likely contributes to, a growing atmosphere of hostility towards LGBT+ people in the UK. Hate crime based on sexual orientation is up 112% over the last five years, while trans hate crime is up 186%.
While tolerance of LGBT+ people and LGBT+ relationships has gradually improved since the 1980s, only 67% of people today feel that “sexual relations between adults of the same sex” are “not wrong at all”, with a third of the country holding a different view.
If Labour is fortunate enough to be elected at the fast approaching General Election we will bring forward a full, no-loopholes, trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy. I know there are people in our city that have had this wicked and outdated practice inflicted on them and to them and everyone who cares about decency and equality I promise you I will keep fighting until that trans-inclusive ban is law.