Conservative leadership candidates lay out LGBT rights plans

10 Conservative MPs are battling to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, and therefore Britain’s new prime minister.

This is what each PM hopeful has to say about their record, and what they plan to do to benefit the LGBT+ community, according to national organisation LGBT Conservatives.

Chairman of LGBT Conservatives Colm Howard-Lloyd said: “We know that our members are supporting a wide range of candidates for the leadership.

“One thing they agree on is the important role the Conservative Party must play in furthering equality and, as we’ve demonstrated previously that must be led from the top.”

Esther McVey explains why she voted against gay marriage, and why she thinks “most people have kissed a Tory – and probably rather liked it,” Boris Johnson says LGBT+ equality is not a “job done,” and Jeremy Hunt said a government under him would have “equality at its heart.”

The candidates are listed in no particular order.

Britain’s Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty)

Jeremy Hunt

“As a Conservative I believe that everyone should be free to be who they are and love who they want, and my track record shows that. I’m proud to have been able to vote for equal marriage and service in the Cabinet that brought this reform into law.

“Most recently in the Foreign Office, where we have difficult interactions with countries that are not as far along the path to equality as we are, I have stood up for gay rights.  I condemned the Government of Brunei’s introduction of the death penalty for gay sex and I am pleased to have secured some progress in that country. The truth is we still have further to go, both in the UK and in the rest of the world, but I hope I have demonstrated that a government led by me would have equality at its heart.”

Boris Johnson. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Boris Johnson

“My guiding principle is this: who you love, who you are, how you choose to live should not and will not stand in your way. Love is love and it is as simple as that.

“I am immensely proud to live in a country that is one of the most progressive and liberal when it comes to LGBT+ equality. Across all four parts of this nation, people should be able to live their lives as they choose and express their love in the way they want.

“Our great country has been at the forefront of the drive towards equality – and as Conservatives we can be proud of the part we have played in that. Not only the landmark passing of equal marriage but, just as important, correcting the wrongs of the past.