Read: Together Today, a campaign for every day of the year

Much has changed for me since that day at London Pride seven years ago when I came out as gay - the first ever openly gay female Cabinet Minister. It wasn’t an easy thing to do at the time, but it was the right thing to do, and I’ve never regretted it. I hoped that I could make a difference by being truly myself so that other LGBT+ people could see someone like them at the highest levels of government.

For others, the situation has, at best, remained the same and for some things have got much worse. Extremism inside and outside the political mainstream, both here and abroad, is a stark reminder that the LGBT+ community is not as warmly embraced as it is on the streets of London in June.

It’s fantastic that Pride Weekend is now Pride Month, giving us the chance to celebrate all that has been achieved over four glorious weeks, and London Pride in particular will always have a special place in my heart. But it’s important to recognise that LGBT+ people and their needs, concerns and aspirations don't just disappear at the end of June. We need to be a voice for them for the rest of the year too, to reassure them that everyone has their back so that they can feel confident in themselves and have access to the same opportunities as everyone else.

Three years ago, at the height of the pandemic, I launched my Together Tomorrow campaign to save LGBT+ venues. Many of these spaces - sometimes the only places where we could feel part of a community – had closed during lockdown and were on the decline. That impact was felt particularly keenly in rural areas where they were often the only place that you could meet people like yourself. Following that initial campaign, the Government announced a change to planning rules to protect theatres, concert halls and live music venues from demolition or change of use by developers, preventing those that were vacant during lockdown from disappearing altogether and giving a boost to LGBT+ performance spaces.

I want to build on that legacy of tackling exclusion by relaunching that campaign as Together Today, with an aim of keeping LGBT+ issues in the spotlight, not just for Pride Month but for all 365 days a year. It will focus on showcasing what businesses are doing year-round to support the LGBT+ community. In our work with leading businesses in the Purpose Coalition, we have seen some great examples of work to improve diversity and inclusion, with initiatives that include network groups, mentoring or recruitment schemes that reach out to underrepresented groups. Sharing that best practice will help other organisations to steer their own paths to a more inclusive workforce where everyone feels valued and able to progress.

Through more effective communication, many of those businesses have found that loneliness is a particular issue of concern for the LGBT+ community, reportedly three times higher than for the general population. Sexual and gender minorities are more likely to be single, childless, living alone, in less frequent contact with their families and generally at greater risk of social isolation. Those problems were exacerbated by repeated national lockdowns and they were less resilient as a result. That legacy is still with us but now impacted by cost-of-living pressures which are forcing many to make difficult decisions at the expense of their leisure activities and social lives. That affects their health, with research showing that it can be associated with higher rates of mortality, poor physical health, depression and cognitive decline.

Our campaign will work towards a UK-wide strategy to tackle loneliness in the LGBT+ community in the UK, with the development of innovative solutions including a recognised measure of loneliness. Many businesses set up schemes to help their employees feel more connected and less isolated during the pandemic and I hope that this campaign can benefit from their experiences.  

At London Pride, I relished the spirit of community and connectedness that it brought. I be joined others to recognise the personal sacrifices of those who have gone before us and the progress we have made so far. But there is still much to do so I am also looking forward to working collaboratively with partners in the Purpose Coalition and others to make the UK a country where you can be at your best because you are yourself, 365 days a year.

Rt Hon Justine Greening,

Chair of the Purpose Coalition