‘Out’ in the British Parliament

This Paper analyses the impediments facing Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) candidates and Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom today. It probes the notion that LGB Parliamentarians speak and act for LGB interests. While the United Kingdom is seen as having the greatest gay-diverse Parliament in the world, there are important impediments facing the LGB community within politics, such as the media, religion, and social attitudes. This Paper begins by examining the theoretical concepts of sexuality. Next, the Paper outlines the hindrances faced by the LGB Parliamentary candidates and MPs in British politics over the last two decades. Finally, the paper offers some advice as to areas that greatly impede candidates and MP’s in the hope that the inequalities that the LGB community face within British politics can be distinguished. To carry out this research, secondary sources will be approached and used to interact with the many academic debates that arise around the representation of minority groups in Parliament. Besides this, it will also interact with debate around the interference of religion, the media, and social attitudes towards minority groups within Parliaments today.