June is Pride month, but Pride will look very differently for those celebrating this year.
This time of year would normally be a time for celebration for the LGBT+ community, coming together all over the UK to celebrate Pride, recognise how far we've come, but also realise how much further we have to go.
Sadly, Coronavirus has meant that we won't be able to come together to celebrate as we normally would, but we will still find ways to mark Pride in 2020 in many other ways.
I am proud to represent Carshalton and Wallington as an openly gay man.
I am also extremely proud of the progress the government has made over the last 10 years on LGBT+ issues. Not only did we legislate for equal marriage, but introduced the first ever LGBT Action Plan in 2018, following the largest every survey of LGBT+ people in the UK.
The Action Plan was incredibly positive and committed to extensive action to improve the lives of LGBT+ people in the UK and overseas. This includes action to tackle bullying of LGBT+ children in school, and indeed adults in the workplace, ending the abhorrent practice of conversion therapy, and reforming the Gender Recognition Act to mention just a few.
Since being elected, I have been working with the Government Equalities Office (GEO) to ensure we continue to make good progress on implementing the plan, and I look forward to seeing this work continue over the course of this Parliament.
So may I wish everyone a very Happy Pride!
