All the LGBTQ+ MPs standing down at the 2024 general election
e LGBTQ+ MPs not seeking reelection for the 2024 General Election. (Parliament/Canva)
The UK general election is looming and there are several LGBTQ+ MPs who have decided not to defend their seat.
In May, prime minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK general election will take play on 4 July – the first to take place in that month since 1945.
A poll released in January suggested that the election would result in major losses for the Tories, with Keir Starmer and Labour sweeping into Downing Street.
So far, more than 125 MPs have announced they are standing down at the election – a figure already close to the record 149, which was set ahead of the 2010 general election.
Here are are the LGBTQ+ MPs who will no longer be representing constituents in the next parliament.
Nick Gibb (Conservative)
Conservative Nick Gibb, who has represented Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, in West Sussex, since 1997, is one of the older MPs standing aside.
The 63-year-old former schools minister announced his decision last year.
He came out as gay nine years ago, revealing his engagement to Michael Simmonds, the chief executive of the polling organisation Populus.
He has told Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast that it was “very difficult” being openly gay.
Crispin Blunt (Conservative)
Former Conservative MP for Reigate, in Surrey, Crispin Blunt, who was first elected to parliament in 1997, announced in 2022 that he would be standing down.
Despite coming out as gay in 2010, when he and wife Victoria separated, his voting record has not always been pro LGBTQ+ rights.
The controversial 63-year-old MP was released under investigation in April after being arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of controlled substances. He had the Tory whip withdrawn following his arrest and has since sat as an independent.
Jamie Wallis (Conservative)
Jamie Wallis, the MP for Bridgend, announced last year that he won’t be seeking re-election in Wales in July.
The 39-year-old Tory did, however, say he was “actively seeking a seat” outside Wales, the BBC reported.
Wallis is believed to be the first MP to speak about his experience with gender dysphoria and his desire to transition to become a woman.
Mhairi Black (SNP)
Scottish National Party (SNP) MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, Mhairi Black, announced last year that she would be stepping down.
Black, who is a lesbian, become parliament’s youngest MP since 1832 when she was elected, aged 20, in 2015.
In announcing her departure from parliament, and now 29, she said she’s “tired [of Westminster’s] toxic environment”.
Ben Bradshaw (Labour)
In 2022, Labour veteran Ben Bradshaw announced his intention to stand down.
Bradshaw became only the second out gay man in Britain to be elected to parliament on the first try when he defeated homophobic Tory candidate Adrian Rogers in the marginal constituency of Exeter in 1997.
The 63-year-old former culture secretary, who is gay, told DevonLive: “It is with considerable sadness that I have decided not to stand at the next general election.”
Mike Freer (Conservative)
Gay Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green – part of Margaret Thatcher’s former constituency – Mike Freer has chosen to step down following an arson attack on his constituency office and being the target of a series of death threats.
The 63-year-old former whip has held the seat since 2010 and been the recipient of two PinkNews awards.
Kieran Mullan (Conservative)
The MP for Crewe and Nantwich since 2019, Kieran Mullan, is another of the younger Tories to be standing down.
The 39-year-old gay MP, who is an avid rugby fan, said he had decided to step back from politics because of the boundary review and changes in his personal life.
William Wragg (Conservative)
William Wragg, the 36-year-old gay Conservative MP for Hazel Grove, in Greater Manchester, and former vice-chairman of the influential 1922 Committee, had already said in 2022 that he would not be running again.
That was before he admitted that he had sent the personal phone numbers of other parliamentary figures to someone he met on Grindr.
Chris Clarkson (Conservative)
Conservative MP Chris Clarkson won the Heywood & Middleton seat, in Greater Manchester, in 2019.
The 41-year-old gay Tory Reform Group member announced his decision to stand down a year ago, citing boundary changes for his decision.
Stuart Andrew (Conservative)
Stuart Andrew has been the Conservative MP for Pudsey, in West Yorkshire, since 2010.
During parliamentary debates on same-sex marriage, Andrew, a former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, revealed that he had been attacked in the street “because of who and what I am”.
Later, he declared his intention to wear a OneLove armband at the England-Wales game at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Announcing that he would not be standing for re-election, the 53-year-old former prisons and probation minister said that it had been a “privilege of a lifetime” to serve as Pudsey’s MP.
Mark Menzies (Conservative)
Fylde MP Mark Menzies has served the Lancashire constituency since 2010.
However, following allegations of misuse of campaign funds, one of a number of scandals to engulf the 53-year-old Tory, he has announced he would not seeking re-election.
While he denies the allegations, Menzies, 53, resigned the Tory whip and said he would be standing down because of the “pressure on myself and my elderly mother”.
Following an internal investigation, the Conservative Party said it could not conclude there had been any misuse of party funds, and the police have said they had not received a complaint.
Dehenna Davison (Conservative)
Dehenna Davison became the MP for Bishop Auckland – which had been a Labour stronghold since 1885 – in the 2019 landslide.
But less than three years later, she revealed she wanted “a life outside politics.” At 30, she is one of the younger MPs to be standing down.
In a post on X/Twitter earlier this year, she berated colleagues about their attitude towards trans people.
“The debate around trans issues often gets inflamed at the fringes. As politicians, it’s our job to take the heat out of such debates and focus on finding sensible ways forward, [while] ensuring those involved are treated with respect.
“Given some of the terrible incidences of transphobia we have seen lately, this need for respect feels more crucial than ever. That’s why it was disappointing to hear jokes being made at the trans community’s expense,” she wrote.
She came out as bisexual in 2021.
Nick Brown (Labour)
Former Labour MP Nick Brown announced his intention to quit Westminster following a disciplinary process over a complaint that was lodged against him regarding an alleged event 25 years ago.
In a statement calling Labour’s disciplinary process a “complete farce”, the now-independent MP for Newcastle Upon Tyne East said: “The accusations against me were, and remain, entirely false, without even the faintest germ of any truth to them.”
The 73-year-old former chief whip, who was sitting as an independent, added: “Not only had they never previously been made in the ensuing 25 years, they had never been so much as hinted at, whether by that individual or anyone else.”
Angela Crawley (SNP)
SNP MP Angela Crawley has been Lanark and Hamilton East’s MP since 2015.
She announced in a post on X/Twitter in June 2023 that she would not be standing for re-election, saying that serving her constituency had come “at a personal cost” and required “many difficult compromises”.
Crawley, 36 added: “It is now time to put my partner and our young family at the centre of my daily life.”
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