The UK has suffered a significant decline in its ranking on the ILGA's rainbow map, reflecting worsening conditions for LGBTQ+ individuals. The recent Supreme Court ruling has restricted transgender rights, interpreted broadly by politicians, with even allies rescinding their support. The Scottish government has also eliminated a proposed ban on conversion therapy. This regression marks a stark contrast to earlier years when the UK was considered a leader in LGBTQ+ rights, evoking nostalgia for a more progressive past even as the author warns against complacency with rankings.
It should surprise no one that the UK has dropped to its lowest ever position on the annual rainbow map of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA), which ranks the best and worst European countries on the basis of laws and policies that affect LGBTQ+ people.
The supreme court's ruling last month that a person's sex in the Equality Act 2010 refers only to biological sexâa redefining of trans people's rights to their detrimentâwill have played a key role in the downgrading.
While I despair at the UK's decline on LGBTQ+ rights, I do not despair at the ranking. In 2015, the year I turned 18 and began to live as an openly gay man, the UK was ranked first on the rainbow map.
At this rate of progress the ranking will be even lower next year, as it should be.
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