These LGBTQ+ people just got elected – but anti-equality politicians made gains too

LGBTQ+ people and the issues affecting them were unfortunately not at the forefront of this election. But despite the result, which favours a prime minister who has previously uttered openly homophobic comments, there were some silver linings worth celebrating.

In Scotland, which saw the SNP dominate proceedings, all of their seven LGBTQ+ candidates were re-elected to parliament, although it remains to be seen how long they'll stay there should the SNP continue with their message of Scottish independence.

Elsewhere, Labour's Lloyd Russell-Moyle was re-elected while Luke Pollard retained his seat in Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, fending off competition from the Brexit Party's Ann Widdecombe. LGBTQ+ candidates across both the Labour party and the Tories were all successful.

And it gets better - it was not a good night for some who oppose the LGBTQ+ issues.

Over in Northern Ireland, Nigel Dodds, the DUP's Westminster leader, saw his seat in Belfast North go to John Finucane of Sinn Fein. Dodds had held this seat since 2001, making his loss a significant one for the DUP - but it's Dodds homophobia which most people will be glad to see the back of.

As reported by Pink News, Dodds has routinely opposed equal rights for LGBTQ+ people, voting against the inclusion of LGBTQ+ relationship and sex education in schools in March and also opposing the extension of marriage equality in Northern Ireland.

Elsewhere, Roger Godsiff, who was previously a Labour candidate but was standing as an independent after being ousted from the party for opposing LGBTQ+ education in Birmingham schools lost his seat of Birmingham Hall Green, which he had held since 2010.

Godsiff earned just 4,273 votes as Labour's Tahar Ali, an LGBTQ+ ally, soared to victory with 35,889 votes.

Unfortunately, it wasn't all good news. Sally Ann Hart, the Tory candidate who made headlines last week after she claimed people with learning disabilities didn't understand money, was elected in Hastings and Rye, replacing Amber Rudd, who previously held the seat before leaving the government.

Hart has reportedly made allegations against Muslims, claiming that they somehow want more people to be "transgendered" - an offensive word with little grammatical logic which betrays hostility towards - or, at best, lack of education around - the trans community.

PinkNews reports that Hart has written on her personal blog:

They want the non-Muslim population to be stagnant while their Muslim population grows. Numbers mean power. They want a young male population that is weakened or with confused female tendencies, whether real or imagined, or transgendered. They want to oppress the women and weaken the men. And the rest of America? They are controlling you via the media.

Although there is both good and bad here, it remains to be seen how the Tories' policies and Brexit will affect LGBT+ people going forward but the government have pledged to continue to tackle homophobia and hate crimes and bring much-needed reforms to the Gender Recognition Act.

HT Pink News

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