Andy Burnham’s record on LGBTQ+ issues as he’s expected to go for Labour leadership

Andy Burnham is expected to run for the Labour party leadership after his return to Westminster and his victory in the Makerfield by-election, and Keir Starmer’s resignation.

On 22 June, Starmer announced he would be resigning as leader of the Labour party but would remain as prime minister until a replacement is found this summer. Nominations for his replacement will open in the coming weeks.

Among the names expected to go for the job – and tipped to get the role – is Andy Burnham, who was the Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until earlier this month. He has previously held a number of other positions, including as Secretary of State for Health under Gordon Brown, between 2009 and 2010.

Despite being Catholic, Burnham has a strong history of being a vocal ally to the LGBTQ+ community – something he previously told PinkNews damaged relationships with members of his own family.

In fact, during the 2015 leadership contest, Burnham urged Pope Francis to support same-sex marriage and bring the Catholic Church “into the 21st century”.

But before then, before he even entered politics, he joined a march against Section 28 in 1988, when he was a student.

Later, from 2003, he voted almost completely in favour of a number LGBTQ+ policies, including to repeal Section 28, the Civil Partnership Act in 2004, outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation when providing goods or services in 2007, giving IVF rights to lesbian couples in 2008, and for same-sex marriage in 2013.

He also supported a review into rules regarding blood donation from gay men in 2015, saying “sexuality really shouldn’t be the issue”. Instead, he said the issue should be anyone “living a lifestyle that is risky”, regardless of someone’s sexuality.

During his time as the Mayor of Greater Manchester, in 2018 he appointed Carl Austin-Behan, who had been let go from the RAF for being gay, as the city’s LGBTQ+ adviser. The same year he launched the LGBTQ+ Equality Panel for Greater Manchester, to help issues faced by the city’s queer residents.

In 2019 he supported the reform of the Gender Recognition Act, as well as the simplifying of the process trans people went through for legal recognition.

He showed support for ending conversion therapy for all LGBTQ+ people in 2022, and last year formally apologised for the “shameful” treatment of LGBTQ+ people from Greater Manchester Police.

Andy Burnham’s views on trans rights

Burnham has been a vocal ally of trans people too, defending the rights of trans women to use women’s toilets in 2022 despite backlash from gender-critical campaigners.

However, he has also drawn some criticism. In 2020, he met with the LGB Alliance to discuss reforms to the Gender Recognition Act. The group is regularly criticised by other members of the LGBTQ+ community for their views on trans rights. But a statement released said Burnham had “made his support for the trans community very clear over the years”.

This year, after the 2025 Supreme Court ruling which defined sex as “biological sex” only, Burnham said the EHRC guidance should be introduced “in the fairest and most compassionate way possible”.

He went on to say that single-sex spaces should be protected, but without “marginalising already marginalised communities”.

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