Olivia Bailey

I am proud to be able to contribute to this important annual tradition, and to do so as the Minister for LGBT+ equality. I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) and for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) for sponsoring the debate, and I applaud them both for their tireless work advocating for the LGBT+ community and for their powerful and important speeches this afternoon. This has been a fantastic debate, packed with pride and heartwarming stories. In the words of the motto of the LGBT Foundation, which I visited earlier this week in Manchester and promised I would get on the record, it has been a debate full of “queer hope and joy”. My hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East talked about Out North East and the new ONE Centre in her constituency, which I am looking forward to visiting, just as I am looking forward to visiting the “Osborne room”. My hon. Friends the Members for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran), for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) and for Cities of London and Westminster (Rachel Blake) told wonderful stories about LGBT history and the wonderful LGBT spaces in their constituencies. I say to my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster that I was asked the other day to reflect on my favourite queer space, and I sadly realised that as a firmly middle-aged lesbian with two children, my favourite queer space is now my living room. My hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor) told some wonderful stories and remembered the King opening the armed forces memorial, which was a really powerful moment. My hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Steve Race) gave us a powerful reminder of the difference that progress has made to his life and to the lives of his constituents.