Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Westminster has the 'gayest' parliament in the world

David Cameron appointed the first 'out' lesbian MP to a Conservative government as assistant government whip on 13 May

Roisin O'Connor
Thursday 14 May 2015 10:22 EDT
Comments
Of the 10 seats Labour won from the Conservatives, three were taken by LGB candidates
Of the 10 seats Labour won from the Conservatives, three were taken by LGB candidates (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The number of openly gay MPs in the Houses of Parliament has risen from 26 to 32 following May's general election.

The Conservative party also put forward more openly LGB candidates than any other party during the campaigning that led up to the election, with 39 men and three women.

Of the 10 seats Labour won from the Conservatives, three were taken by LGB candidates.

According to the New Statesman’s politics blog The Staggers, the UK broke its own record for LGBT representation last week, however "all are white, only six are women and none are trans".

The New Statesman calculated that there were 155 out gay candidates in May 2015.

David Cameron appointed the first "out" lesbian MP to a Conservative government as assistant government whip on 13 May.

Margot James, MP for Stourbridge, was promoted by Cameron in this week's cabinet reshuffle.

The appointment was overshadowed by his controversial appointment of Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport, as minister for equalities.

Dineage previously said the state had "no right" to redefine marriage and voted against legislation for same-sex marriage.

Tory MP Caroline Dineage
Tory MP Caroline Dineage (Getty Images)

Another MP who voted against same-sex marriage, John Whittingdale, was made culture secretary.

The full reshuffle details can be found here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in