LGBT Flag.
LGBT Flag.

I remain committed to banning LGBT conversion therapies as a matter of urgency.

Conversion therapies are exploitative and damaging, and LGBT people have the right to live in safety and dignity.  

On 29 October 2021, the Government launched its long-awaited consultation on proposals to ban conversion therapy, having first pledged to end conversion therapy in 2018. The consultation closed on 4 February 2022, and the Government said that it would analayse the responses and prepare legislation for Spring (2022). 

Two years later, the Government has still not introduced a Bill to Parliament which would ban conversion therapy and the official line on the consultation is that the Government is still analysing the responses that it received. 

Clearly, the Government is not committed to ending conversion therapy. We saw an example of this back in 2022 when documents were leaked to the press which said: “the PM has agreed we should not move forward with legislation to ban LGBT conversion therapy”. 

Liz Truss was the PM at the time and only after significant public backlash did she announce that the Government was still committed to ending conversion therapy. This was however paired with briefings to reporters that the ban would not include trans people.

As I, and many others, pointed out at the time, this makes no sense on a logical or moral basis. The Government has repeatedly called conversion therapy “coercive and abusive”. Why is it acceptable to coerce and abuse trans people, but not other LGBT people? My Opposition Colleagues and I would not accept the exclusion of trans people from any ban on conversion therapy. 

Shamefully, six years after it first pledged to end conversion therapy, the Government has still not made any progress towards fulfilling this pledge and has now been overtaken by not one but two Private Members’ Bill (PMBs). 

Lloyd Russell-Moyle has introduced the ‘Conversion Practices (Prohibition) Bill’ in the House of Commons and Baroness Burt of Solihull has introduced the ‘Conversion Therapy Prohibition (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) Bill [HL]’ in the House of Lords. 

However, the Government has said that it does not support either Bill, with Ministers in both Houses saying: “We have concerns about four areas: the proposed definition of conversion practices, the inclusion of the term “suppression”, the proposed parental exemption and the territorial extent of the provisions.” 

It was suggested that these concerns could be addressed through amendments at the Committee Stage, but Ministers rejected this conciliatory proposal and instead said that the Government will introduce its own Bill. Sadly, without Government support, neither Bill is likely to pass. 

The Ministers did not say when the Government would introduce its own Bill, just that it would come after the final report of the Cass review, which is expected in a few weeks. Although, presumably, the Government would need time to read the review and its findings before it could incorporate them into its proposed legislation. 

Given the Government’s track record in this area, I am highly sceptical of it introducing this promised legislation at all, let alone legislation which is free of loopholes or inclusive of all LGBT people.  

Also, all Bills are now on a timer, as any that are not passed before the next General Election will automatically fall when it is called, requiring Parliament to start the process again, after the election. I do not believe that the Government has the desire or the conscience to introduce and pass anti-conversion therapy legislation before then. 

Regardless, I can assure you that I will continue to support a ban on conversion therapy for all LGBT people. I agree with the Government of 6 years ago, we must end this coercive and abusive practice. 

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