Pride in London 2014

30 Jun 2014 02:48 PM

The capital celebrates Pride in London 

Saturday marked the capital’s annual LGB&T Pride in London and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will proudly be flying the rainbow flag to mark the occasion.

Pride in London’s theme this year is #FreedomTo. The UK Government is leading the way in making sure everyone has #Freedomto…not be discriminated against because of who they love.

Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Equalities said:

It’s been a historic year for LGB&T rights. The first same sex marriages took place in March and civil partnerships will be able to be converted by the end of the year. I hope everyone at Pride today has a great day.

For the fourth year in a row, the International Lesbian and Gay Association’s Rainbow Index ranked the UK number one in Europe for LGB&T rights. This recognises the important work the Government has done over the course of this Parliament to improve LGB&T rights in Britain. These include:

• The implementation of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act. The first weddings of same sex couples were held in March and from 10 December 2014, couples in England and Wales who have entered a civil partnership over the past decade will be able to convert it into a marriage. More details will follow soon.
• A new project to understand the most effective ways of tackling homophobic bullying in schools, something too many children still suffer with.
• Tougher sentences for transphobic hate crime; something that t has no place in a civilised society. Also from 10 December transgender people will be able to apply to change their legal gender without ending their marriage, provided both parties agree to the marriage continuing.
• Sports club, professional football clubs, and thousands of individuals have signed our charter for action on tackling homophobia and transphobia in sport.
• Changing the law so that men who were unfairly stigmatised by decades-old convictions for consensual gay sex can have those convictions disregarded.

A team from the Government Equalities Office will be in Trafalgar Square this Saturday so if you are taking part in Pride, please feel free to stop by and we will be happy to talk to you about the Government’s work.