The 12 Most Important UK LGBTQ Stories of 2020

Coronavirus doesn't discriminate, but it does affect marginalised groups more than others.

As the government botched its response to the pandemic, then botched it again and again, LGBTQ venues faced a fight for survival, vital reforms were ignored and thousands of LGBTQ young people were forced to self-isolate with unsupportive or downright abusive parents.

Still, there were moments of genuine hope as well as wrenching frustration for the LGBTQ community, as this summary of the year's biggest queer news stories from the UK shows. 

After years of campaigning, same-sex marriage finally became legal in Northern Ireland. Just weeks later, Robyn Peoples and Sharni Edwards became the first queer couple to tie the knot.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in England, Wales and Scotland since 2014, but Northern Ireland’s marriage equality campaign was held back by the country's complex political situation, which saw its assembly, Stormont, suspended from January of 2017 to January of 2020.

Patrick Corrigan from the Love Equality NI campaign told VICE World News: “We've had to fight longer and harder to win same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland than any other jurisdiction on these islands."

Though a gay TV presenter is really "nbd" in 2020, Schofield's frankness highlighted the fact that, for many queer people, coming out isn't a destination, but an ongoing journey. 

“You never know what’s going on in someone’s seemingly perfect life, what issues they are struggling with, or the state of their wellbeing – and so you won’t know what has been consuming me for the last few years," the 57-year-old wrote on Instagram. “With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay."

The Prime Minister told pubs and clubs across the country to close as coronavirus took hold. This sent shockwaves to all corners of the hospitality industry, but proved especially devastating for independent queer venues which already have the odds stacked against them.

John Sizzle of east London's queer bastion The Glory told VICE World News: “We're grassroots venues that rely on continuous trade, so we can't suffer this kind of setback without it really affecting us in the long-term."

Freddy McConnell, a trans man who gave birth to a child, lost his appeal to be named "father" or "parent" on the birth certificate. Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett said the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) required McConnell to be registered on the document as "mother". 

Dismayed by the verdict, Stonewall said "the courts have missed a vital opportunity to send a positive message that recognises all parents, including LGBT parents, for who they are", while McConnell pledged to take his case to the Supreme Court.

Plymouth Citybus caused a Twitter shit-storm when it posted photos of its crassly rebranded double-decker. "Rainbows have become synonymous with hope and the NHS during the current pandemic," the tweet read, "so we thought what better way to show our thanks to our amazing NHS and key workers than to rebrand our Pride bus to our rainbow 'NHS' bus?"

Though the LGBTQ community clearly has more pressing issues to worry about than a multicoloured bus, this tone deaf tweet hit a nerve. Many felt uncomfortable that the rainbow flag – a symbol of queer pride for more than 40 years – had seemingly been handed over to the NHS without anyone asking.

Still, others pointed out that this gave queer people a welcome opportunity to fully embrace the new, more inclusive Progress Flag.

June – JK Rowling Doubles Down On Trans Tweets

After taking issue with the phrase "people who menstruate", JK Rowling published a 3,700-word essay outlining her "reasons for speaking out on sex and gender issues".

"I’m concerned about the huge explosion in young women wishing to transition and also about the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning (returning to their original sex), because they regret taking steps that have, in some cases, altered their bodies irrevocably, and taken away their fertility," Rowling wrote, without offering any evidence to support her claims, because no such evidence exists.

The most recent study on the topic found that of the 3,398 trans patients who had appointments at an NHS Gender Identity Service between 2016 and 2017, just 0.47 percent said they had experienced transition-related regret or had detransitioned.

The UK House of Commons’ official Twitter account shared a survey asking people to "discuss" conversion therapy. "How does #conversiontherapy affect the #LGBTQ community?" the tweet read. "Should it be made illegal? What would that mean to you?"

The tweet and survey were swiftly deleted after queer people and allies expressed outrage that the government was effectively asking them to debate an abhorrent practice condemned by every major counselling and psychotherapy body in the UK.

Still, this tweet was the first time in two years that the government had actually engaged with the issue. In 2018, then-Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to "end the practice of conversion therapy" in the UK as part of her LGBT Action Plan. Since then, the government has dragged its heels and done absolutely nothing – an attitude towards vital LGBTQ policy reforms we'd see reflected again in September of 2020.

With coronavirus making traditional Pride gatherings impossible, many events moved online to keep the party (and the protest) going. As Black Lives Matter protests continued to gather momentum, UK Black Pride celebrated its 15th anniversary with a day of live-streamed performances, DJ sets and speakers. Reinforcing the idea that Pride is really about mutual support and solidarity, organisers said: "We hope to always be that place you feel you can come to when your feet are tired and your heart is heavy."

Depressingly, the government confirmed it had rejected proposals that would make it easier for trans people to self-identify. Though the majority of respondents to the GRA reform consultation said the need for a gender dysphoria diagnosis should be removed, the government opted not to implement this. Instead, it made only minor administrative changes to the Gender Recognition Certificate application process. 

Kicking the issue into the long grass, Equalities Minister Liz Truss said she believed that the current law provides the right "checks and balances". Stonewall's chief executive Nancy Kelley called this a "shocking failure in leadership" that had squandered an opportunity "to make it easier for all trans people to go about their daily life".

The government's Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) finally offered financial relief to the UK's struggling pubs and clubs. LGBTQ venues which received grants included The Glory and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London, and Cruz 101 and the Eagle Bar in Manchester. Drag collective Sink the Pink, queer womxn-only club promoters Lick Events and queer cabaret stalwart Le Gateau Chocolat received grants too.

Noticeably absent from the list was London and Manchester's iconic G-A-Y. Still, this meant gay Twitter continued to get fantastic mileage from owner Jeremy Joseph's creative approach to keeping his venues open through the Tier changes.

The BBC broke the news that funding to projects combatting the bullying of LGBTQ pupils had been cut. The Government Equalities Project tried to play this down by claiming the fund "was always due to end in March 2020", but the BBC had receipts. As LGBT correspondent Ben Hunte reported, this was the first time funding hadn’t been extended since the projects were introduced in 2014.

It was impossible not to perceive this as another callous shoulder shrug from the government. According to a 2017 Stonewall report, 64 percent of trans pupils and nearly half of LGBTQ pupils overall face bullying in schools as a result of their identity. Matt Horwood of LGBTQ youth and homelessness charity akt told VICE World News that the decision felt "like a step backwards rather than forwards".

Following prolonged lobbying from the FreedomToDonate campaign, the government finally agreed to relax blood donation rules for men who have sex with men (MSM). From summer of 2021, any man’s eligibility to give blood will be based on his specific sexual behaviour, not on his sexuality.

FreedomToDonate's Ethan Spibey hailed the new rules as a "significant shift", telling VICE World News that it "unlocks the potential of thousands of gay and bisexual men who previously couldn’t donate". However, critics argued that it further stigmatises MSM who aren't in a monogamous relationship and choose to have anal sex with multiple partners. Under the new rules, they still won't be able to donate.