MPs call for tougher sentences for hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people

Jacob Collier MP for Burton and Uttoxeter spoke in favour of new aggravated offences as part of the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, explaining that LGBTQ+ people “don’t feel safe in reporting hate”. Collier is among more than 100 cross-party MPs who backed a proposed amendment (clause 122), which was originally put forward by Rachel Taylor, the MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth.

The proposed clause would create new offences if violent crimes are motivated by hostility towards a person’s sexuality, transgender identity or disability.

Rachel Taylor MP explained that she was at university when Section 28 (the Government Act 1988 which banned councils from promoting or teaching “the acceptability of” homosexuality in schools) was introduced.

She said: “I remember it vividly, it was more than the law, it was an attack on the right of people like me to live openly. It stigmatised lesbians, gays and bisexual people, it pushed us out of public life.

“I got into politics to fight that cruel law and everything it represented.”

She added that clause 122 would be “an important step forward for equal rights”.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday 18th June in support of the clause 122, Collier said: “I believe it represents a vital step forward in the protection of some of the most marginalised people in our society.

He continued: “It delivers on a promise, a promise that we in the Labour party made in our manifesto to the British people: that we would act to close the gap in our hate crime laws and provide equal protection to LGBT+ people and disabled people in the criminal justice system. It is about living up to our values…

“It is also fitting that we are tabling this new clause in Pride Month and in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling which has caused so much anguish among the trans community. We know the scale of the problem. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation have risen by 112% over the last five years. Against trans people, that figure is 186%. The charity Galop, which supports LGBT+ victims of abuse, saw a 60% increase in referrals in the last year alone. In the year ending March 2024, 11,719 disability hate crime incidents were reported. Shamefully, just 1% of that hate crime involving violence resulted in a charge. And yet, still, the majority of incidents go unreported. Too many victims still believe the system is not on their side.”

Collier also shared his own lived experience, explaining: “I know what it means to think twice about how you walk down a street, to pause before holding someone’s hand, and to wonder whether that shout from across the road is something that you can ignore or that you cannot afford to ignore. And I know I am not alone in that. I have spoken to my constituents and to people from far beyond, who tell me they do not feel safe reporting hate when it happens. They do not believe they will be taken seriously. There is a profound failure of trust, one that we in this House have a duty to repair.

“This is also about dignity. It is about recognising that, whether you are a trans teenager being punched in a park, a gay couple being spat at on the tube, or a disabled man being harassed on his way to work, all people deserve the full protection of the law. They deserve to know that this country is on their side, and that if they are targeted for who they are, justice will not look the other way.”