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Pride Month

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 celebration in the UK is generally decentralised with several events taking place across cities and towns.

Recent Developments (2025-2026)

Conversion Therapy

In the May 2026 King’s Speech, King Charles III confirmed that the government would bring forward a draft Conversion Practices Bill to ban what it described as “abusive conversion practices”. This followed earlier commitments set out in the 2024 King’s Speech.

Recognition of LGBT+ veterans

The LGBT+ Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) was launched in December 2024 to provide financial compensation to LGBT+ veterans discharged or negatively impacted by the ban on LGBT personnel serving in the armed forces between 1967 and 2000. The scheme provides a £50,000 payment for veterans dismissed or discharged due to their sexual orientation or gender identity and additional impact payments of between £1,000 and £20,000 depending on individual circumstances.

In February 2026, the government stated that it had implemented 48 of the 49 recommendations made by the LGBT Veterans Independent Review, chaired by Lord Etherton, “including 14 restorative measures and the LGBT financial recognition scheme”. The government further stated:

The outstanding recommendation focused on the ban’s long-term consequences for female veterans and will be achieved through work starting this year, following the commitment in this Government’s veterans strategy to better understand and support women veterans.

In April 2026, the BBC reported that two military veterans who "suffered enduring harm" due to a ban on LGBT personnel in the armed forces had launched legal action against the Ministry of Defence.

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. 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.

Following the judgment, the Equality and Human Rights Commission began updating its statutory code of practice for services, public functions and associations. In May 2026, an updated draft code was laid before Parliament.

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:

• Sexual orientation, England and Wales: census 2021
• Sexual orientation: age and sex, England and Wales
• Sexual orientation, further personal characteristics, England and Wales
• Gender identity, England and Wales: census 2021

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, 2026

Supreme Court judgment on the meaning of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010: For Women Scotland, House of Commons Library, 2026

LGBT Veterans Independent Review, House of Lords, 2026