Abstract
This chapter argues that Theresa May’s premiership, although highly disordered after losing her majority in the 2017 general election, made some important strides for LGBT equality. Theresa May’s Cabinet included the first openly gay man in a Conservative Cabinet, and the first openly gay woman in any Cabinet. May’s interest in LGBT rights came with her publication of her LGBTQ Action Plan, which was based on a survey of over 100,000 LGBTQ individuals. It was the largest in the world, and contained 75 concrete government responses aimed at improving the lives of LGBT people in Britain and around the world. May explained that she had been most emotionally affected by the survey’s finding that two-thirds of gay couples avoid holding hands with their same-sex partner in public out of fear of a negative reaction. ‘That really struck me’, May reflected, ‘Because, for heterosexual couples, holding hands is such a simple, normal gesture that we take it entirely for granted’. Thus, this chapter examines her attitudes towards LGBT issues both as Prime Minister, and as a member of the Conservative Cabinets of her predecessors.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Katy Guest, ‘Tories Out!’, The Independent, 27 November 2003.
- 2.
On 3 November 2003, Theresa May was appointed Shadow Transport Secretary by the new party leader Michael Howard. She was replaced by Liam Fox. The dinner in question took place on 21 November.
- 3.
Katy Guest, ‘Tories Out!’, The Independent, 27 November 2003.
- 4.
Conservative Group for Homosexual Equality, GB 97 HCA (LSE Archives).
- 5.
Katy Guest, ‘Tories Out!’, The Independent, 27 November 2003.
- 6.
When Theresa May became Chairman of the Conservative Party, the Guardian editor David Marsh instructed journalists that the house style would be Chairwoman. ‘Although the Conservatives describe her as the new “chairman”’, Marsh wrote in guidance to Guardian staff, ‘we have decided to call her the party chairwoman. She is, after all, a woman. If the Tories want to look daft and out of touch, that’s up to them’ (‘Diary’, Daily Telegraph, 26 July 2002).
- 7.
May did not invent this moniker. The Shadow Education Secretary, Damian Green, was recorded using the term about his own party five months before Theresa May (‘The nasty party can’t become the nice party overnight’, Guardian, 8 May 2002).
- 8.
‘We won as the nasty party, says Tebbit’, Daily Telegraph, 10 October 2002.
- 9.
Colin Brown & Francis Elliott, ‘Who will have the last laugh?’, Sunday Telegraph, 23 February 2003.
- 10.
Frank Johnson, ‘Retired major casts a shadow as the troops go on parade’, Daily Telegraph, 8 October 2003.
- 11.
David Charter, ‘Gay Tories win right to be part of the party’, The Times, 9 December 2002.
- 12.
Katy Guest, ‘Tories Out!’, The Independent, 27 November 2003.
- 13.
‘Revealed’, Daily Telegraph, 9 October 2002.
- 14.
‘MoD man suspended during gay sex inquiry’, Birmingham Post, 10 May 1994.
- 15.
‘Roll-call of Tories who departed under a cloud’, The Independent, 10 April 1995.
- 16.
Jo Knowsley, ‘I am not bitter, says humbled Tory MP’, Sunday Telegraph, 10 March 1996.
- 17.
There was a certain irony, if the accusation of his former lover was true, that Portillo would not have been allowed to serve in the military at the time that he was Defence Secretary: ‘a man who was officially regarded as unfit to be an army cook was in charge of the armed forces of the UK’ (Nigel Hart, ‘Michael is a hypocrite’, Guardian, 13 September 1999).
- 18.
‘Portillo’s former lover dies’, Irish Times, 18 December 1999.
- 19.
Nigel Hart, ‘Michael is a hypocrite’, Guardian, 13 September 1999.
- 20.
‘Seaside Whispers’, Evening Standard, 6 October 2003.
- 21.
- 22.
- 23.
The Inner London Education Authority.
- 24.
‘Gay sex book is vice lure’, Sunday Mirror, 26 October 1986.
- 25.
‘Baker urges ban on gay book’, Daily Telegraph, 17 September 1986.
- 26.
- 27.
‘Absentees and rebels caused defeat’, Daily Telegraph, 26 July 2000.
- 28.
‘Blair is wrong over Section 28 says Woodhead’, Sunday Telegraph, 30 January 2000.
- 29.
‘We found an old interview with Theresa May talking about promoting homosexuality’, Vice, 27 July 2017.
- 30.
‘Labour faces new fight on age of gay consent’, Daily Telegraph, 26 July 2000.
- 31.
‘How Hague lost a rising star’, Guardian, 19 December 1999.
- 32.
‘Bercow quits over Tory adoption policy’, Guardian, 4 November 2002.
- 33.
- 34.
- 35.
- 36.
Theresa May, ‘Theresa May writes for PinkNews on the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act’, Pink News, 19 July 2017.
- 37.
‘Tory MPs out to wreck gay partnership bill’, Guardian, 8 November 2004.
- 38.
‘Changing briefs’, Evening Standard, 11 November 2004.
- 39.
‘Tory pledge to scrap fees and help teachers’, The Independent, 6 October 2004.
- 40.
‘Theresa May is surprise choice to be home secretary’, The Independent, 13 May 2010.
- 41.
‘Virtually all asylum-seekers sent back to persecution’, The Independent, 23 May 2010.
- 42.
- 43.
‘Why the Supreme Court ruled against the deportation of gay asylum-seekers’, The Independent, 8 July 2010.
- 44.
‘Convictions for gay sex to be erased’, Daily Telegraph, 17 June 2010.
- 45.
- 46.
- 47.
‘Being a mother gives me an edge on May: Leadsom’, The Times, 9 July 2016.
- 48.
- 49.
‘Andrea Leadsom gives right-wing Tories a chance to take their party back’, Telegraph, 8 July 2016.
- 50.
‘Ruth Davidson: I’d invite PM Angela Leadsom to My Gay Wedding’, Telegraph, 8 July 2016.
- 51.
- 52.
Nick Duffy, ‘Schools to teach about same-sex relationships and gender identity’, Pink News, 19 July 2018.
- 53.
‘Theresa May Defends LGBT Education for Primary Children Despite Parent Protests’, PoliticsHome, 2 July 2019.
- 54.
‘Theresa May says she deeply regrets Britain’s legacy of anti-gay laws’, Independent, 17 April 2018.
- 55.
‘Bishop calls for gay people to be jailed in interview on BBC’s Today programme’, Pink News, 17 April 2018.
- 56.
‘Theresa May’, PinkNews, 2 July 2019.
- 57.
‘Six prime ministers on LGBT progress on Pride 50th anniversary’, i, 1 July 2022.
- 58.
- 59.
‘Prime Minister Theresa May vows to support LGBT-inclusive sex ed at PinkNews Awards’, PinkNews, 18 October 2017.
- 60.
- 61.
‘Ministers ready to betray trans people’, 15 June 2020.
- 62.
- 63.
- 64.
- 65.
- 66.
‘Why is the government facing a backlash from its LGBT+ advisory panel?’, The Independent, 14 March 2021.
- 67.
‘Three UK government LGBT advisers quit with rebuke of ignorant ministers’, Guardian, 11 March 2021.
- 68.
‘Three UK government LGBT advisers quit with rebuke of ignorant ministers’, Guardian, 11 March 2021.
Bibliography
Bercow, J. (2020). Unspeakable. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Blackburn, V. (2016). Theresa May: The downing street revolution. John Blake.
Bloch, M. (2015). Closet queens. Abacus.
Cameron, D. (2019). For the record. William Collins.
Turner, A. (2013). A classless society: Britain in the 1990s. Aurum Press.
West, N. (Rupert Allason). 1993. Murder in the Commons. Chivers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Johnson, R. (2023). Theresa May and LGBT Equality. In: Roe-Crines, A.S., Jeffery, D. (eds) Statecraft. Palgrave Studies in Political Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32472-7_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32472-7_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-32471-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-32472-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)