Rishi Sunak has formally become the new Prime Minister and insists he is "not daunted" despite the challenges awaiting him in office. Following Liz Truss' record-setting short stint at Number 10 her replacement., the former chancellor, has the task of restoring the country's economic stability and, arguably more importantly, regaining the trust of the public.
With Mr Sunak having taken on the UK's top job politically we wanted to understand his stance to date on LGBT+ issues. In 2016, the year after he was elected MP for Richmond in Yorkshire, the 42-year-old voted in favour of repealing the Human Rights Act 1998, which brought the European Convention on Human Rights into the UK's law. The ECHR in regards to the LGBT+ community prohibits discrimination and inhumane treatment on the basis of a person's sexual preference or gender identity.
When he faced Ms Truss in a leadership contest earlier this year Mr Sunak was reported to have been working on launching a manifesto for women's rights. In his most latest, and successful, bid for leadership of the Conservative party he tweeted that he would "deliver on the promise of the 2019 manifesto" which saw his party take a large House of Commons majority.
The only reference within that manifesto that concerned the welfare of LGBT+ people read: "We will vigorously combat harassment and violence against all religious groups, and against LGBT people."
Since that win the Conservative party has backtracked on a planned ban on conversion therapy for LGBT+ people. Originally planned to be made illegal when Theresa May was Prime Minister, the archaic practice is yet to be outlawed. After a massive backlash a ban was proposed but this excluded transgender people.
Given all of these issues and more Mr Sunak will have the gaze of LGBT+ people closely locked on him as he takes up his new office. With LGBT+ hate crimes at an all-time high the next PM faces a major challenge in ensuring that the treatment of LGBT+ people drastically improves.
Former government LGBT+ adviser and anti-conversion therapy campaigner Jayne Ozanne was among those that congratulated the new Prime Minister but she urged him to act on LGBT+ issues going forward. She told PinkNews: “In congratulating Mr Sunak on his appointment as Prime Minister I would urge him to prioritise the needs of those who are feeling the most vulnerable and scared at this time of extreme uncertainty.
“This includes members of the LGBT+ community, many of whom live in constant fear given the toxic nature of the debate over trans rights, exemplified by soaring hate crime statistics. He has an opportunity to address these concerns directly by giving a clear commitment to a full ban on ‘conversion therapy’ and abolishing the barbaric Rwanda asylum policy. Moreover I hope he will look to reset the clock in relation to the Tory party’s disastrous relationship with the LGBT+ community over the past few years.”
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