Background

Pride month is celebrated in June each year by LGBT+ communities around the world. The month of June was chosen to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, or uprising, of June 1969.

Pride events began to be regularly held in major cities throughout the 1990s. For instance, Brighton Pride, though originating in 1973, began to be organised on a yearly basis in 1991. Pride Scotland ’95 was Scotland’s first large-scale pride event; Birmingham Pride was officially launched in 1997. Liverpool was the largest major city to not have an ‘official’ annual Pride until its council-affiliated Pride march was established in 2010.

Pride Month 2025 has been described as grounded “in the powerful theme, activism and change”, highlighting the importance of protest in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Recent Developments (2024-2025)

Conversion Therapy

In the July 2024 King’s Speech, King Charles III announced that legislation would be introduced to ban conversion therapy. In May 2025, the Minister for Equalities, Dame Nia Griffith, stated that cross-government work was ongoing with a view to publishing a draft bill “later this session”.

Recognition of LGBT+ veterans

In December 2024, the LGBT+ Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) was launched. The scheme provides financial compensation to LGBT+ veterans discharged or negatively impacted by the ban on LGBT personnel serving in the armed forces between 1967 and 2000. On 12 December 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey, stated that, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) had allocated £75 million for the financial recognition scheme, with a flat payment of £50,000 for “veterans who were dismissed or administratively discharged, including officers instructed to resign because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or their gender identity under the ban”. A further “impact payment”, up to £20,000 per individual, would also be available to eligible personnel. The Defence Secretary further stated that the scheme was not a compensation scheme, but was intended to “recognise the discrimination and detriment suffered by LGBT personnel under the ban”.

In March 2025, the Minister for Veterans and People, Alistair Carns, stated that the government had implemented 42 of the 49 recommendations made by  LGBT Veterans Independent Review, chaired by Lord Etherton, “with work to implement the outstanding seven recommendations underway”.

Supreme Court judgment on the meaning of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010

On 16 April 2025 the Supreme Court handed down judgment in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers. The case concerned how the terms “man”, “woman” and “sex” should be interpreted in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) in light of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA). The court found that as a matter of ordinary language, the provisions relating to sex discrimination in the EA 2010 could only be interpreted as referring to biological sex. The Library briefing paper provides further information on the judgment and the government’s response. The Supreme Court has also published a press summary of the judgment.

Statistics on the LGBT+ population

Survey data on sexual orientation

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes UK-wide statistics on sexual orientation, using data from the Annual Population Survey (APS), a representative survey of UK households. The ONS estimates that in 2023, 3.8% of people aged 16 or over identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB).

The statistical release has further data on trends over time, and a breakdown by sex and age.

Census data on LGBT+ people

The most recent census asked respondents about LGBT+ identities for the first time. The questions were optional and only asked of people aged 16 or over.

The census is carried out separately in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with results published separately.

The March 2021 census in England and Wales asked separate questions about sexual orientation and gender identity. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published a range of publications setting out its findings:

The ONS has said that there is “extra uncertainty” associated with its statistics on gender identity. Further guidance on using them is set out in a March 2025 publication.

Scotland’s census was delayed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and was carried out in March 2022. The census asked about sexual orientation, and about whether respondents identified as trans. The National Records of Scotland (NRS) published a briefing on Sexual orientation and trans status or history in June 2024.

The March 2021 census in Northern Ireland asked about sexual orientation but not gender identity. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NRS) published a statistical bulletin on sexual orientation (PDF) in March 2023.

Constituency data

The Commons Library has a constituency data dashboard on LGBT+ people based on census data. The dashboard has data on sexual orientation for all UK constituencies, including a breakdown by specific identities and for neighbourhoods within the constituency.

Data is also available for Scottish constituencies on trans people (see the notes to the dashboard for more background on data quality and availability in the rest of the UK).

Further Reading

Pride in the UK: From its roots to today, House of Lords, 2023

Prohibiting conversion therapy, House of Commons Library, 2024

Lesbian visibility week, House of Commons Library, 2025

Recognition of LGBT+ veterans: FAQs, House of Commons Library, 2025

LGBT+ History Month, House of Commons Library, 2025

E-petition: transgender people self-identifying their legal gender, House of Commons Library, 2025

Supreme Court judgment on the meaning of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010: For Women Scotland, House of Commons Library, 2025

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