Will the UK break the record for most gay MPs?
The UK is projected to elect more openly LGB MPs than anywhere else in the world.
Counting is currently underway across the UK – with an exit poll indicating that David Cameron’s Conservative Party is on for a strong showing.
Researcher Professor Andrew Reynolds of the University of North Carolina has been tracking all candidates who openly identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual.
The professor has previously projected that the House of Commons would break its own record for LGB parliamentarians, with the current record of 26 set to rise to 29.
Following Thursday evening’s exit poll, the Conservative Party is now expected to return 14 or 15 out MPs, ahead of Labour’s projected 7 to 10. The Labour party had previously been projected to overtake the Tories in the number of LGB Members of Parliament.
His projections are as follows:
Con: 14-15
Lab: 7-10
LibDem: 1-2
Scottish National Party: 2
Plaid Cymru : 1-2
The House of Commons already has more openly gay elected politicians than any other Parliamentary chamber in the world.
The researcher identified LGB candidates “based on party identification and individual candidate publicity”.
There are currently no openly transgender MPs. There are at least five openly transgender candidates across Labour, the Lib Dems and the Green Party – but none are expected to win their seats.
PinkNews election coverage is generously supported by KPMG.
