Minister for Women and Equalities Liz Truss. (NurPhoto via Getty/ David Cliff)
The government’s so-called equalities office tried to wish everyone a happy Pride Month, but in light of its recent actions, it wildly backfired.
The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has disappointed the LGBT+ time and time again under the leadership of Conservative minister for women and equalities Liz Truss.
Almost three years since the Conservative party’s 2018 pledge to “eradicate” conversion therapy in the UK as part of its LGBT+ Action Plan, a ban has failed to materialise.
Following promises that a ban would be brought forward “shortly” – after a consultation on “free speech” and “religious freedom” – just last month Truss suggested that the previous LGBT+ Action Plan would be scrapped.
She also confirmed last week that the government’s LGBT+ Advisory Panel was disbanded after its members supported for self-ID for trans folk, and it was revealed that Truss was pushing all government departments to withdraw the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme, a major employment scheme promoting LGBT+ acceptance.
So, when the Government Equalities Office’s official Twitter account decided to wish the community a “happy Pride Month” on 1 June, LGBT+ folk were having none of it.
Alongside its Pride Month tweet, which described June as “a month to celebrate LGBT equality across the UK and beyond”, Truss’ equalities office posted a video compiling “recent LGBT moments to celebrate this Pride”.
These included the UK conversion therapy ban which has not yet happened and is likely to provide exemptions for religious institutions, and the reduction in the application cost of Gender Recognition Certificates despite the process remaining intrusive and undignified and the government scrapping meaningful Gender Recognition Act reform.
And! We also LOVINGLY split from the UK’s leading LGBTQ charity network because of pressure from terfs! Happy pride month!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/zwOiHznENV
— Jamie Windust (@jamie_windust) June 1, 2021
One Twitter user wrote: “Is this a joke?
“You’ve sacked the LGBT advisory committee and are encouraging business to leave their Stonewall diversity programmes.
“It’s getting scarier and scarier to be LGBT and especially T.”
This you? https://t.co/TxYintvOyE pic.twitter.com/e4u9qErnza
— Jason Reid (@JasonReidUK) June 1, 2021
Another said told the equalities office to “f**k right off”, adding: “Liz Truss has done nothing but attack LGBT people since she’s been in power. The absolutely audacity of this.”
Non-binary writer and performer Tabby Lamb put it simply: “Go suck a f**k you absolute w**k buckets.”