We look into where the UK’s new Prime Minister stands on equal marriage, trans rights and banning conversion practices
BY DIVA STAFF, IMAGE BY HOUSE OF COMMONS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Andy Burnham, MP for Makerfield, is officially the UK’s 59th Prime Minister, following Keir Starmer’s resignation earlier this year. So, what does this mean for LGBTQIA+ people? Here’s a brief overview of Burnham’s stance on LGBTQIA+ issues throughout his career.
Section 28
As a student, Burnham marched against Section 28, the law under Margaret Thatcher’s government that banned local authorities and schools from “promoting homosexuality”. He later voted to repeal Section 28 in England and Wales in 2003.
Equal marriage
In 2004, Burnham voted for the Civil Partnership Act, which gave same-sex couples legal recognition for the first time. Later on, in 2013, he voted for the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, which legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
Fertility justice
In 2008, Burnham voted for an amendment by Iain Duncan Smith in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that stated that IVF clinics had to consider the “need for a father and a mother”. This amendment was rejected by the House of Commons, and clinics were recommended instead to call simply for “supportive parenting”.
Speaking about this vote to PinkNews in 2010, Burnham said: “My take on this is that there should be a named father figure for the child, who accepts that role and is there as a support to the young person as they grow up.”
He later revisited these statements in another interview with PinkNews, stating: “The issue that I had a concern about is actually now dealt with in law – under any form of IVF, any child can actually trace their biological father, so that is completely dealt with. I’m giving you an honest answer – I would not seek to change the law, the law as it stands is right.”
Trans rights
In 2019, Burnham voted for the reform of the Gender Recognition Act. However, a year later, he met with LGB Alliance, a group that has been criticised by LGBTQIA+ organisations for its anti trans stance.
In 2022, he stated that trans women should be allowed to use women’s bathrooms and single-sex spaces. At Manchester Pride 2025, Burnham said: “I am going to make it really plain: I support trans rights, and I want that to be known.”
Earlier this year, in light of the UK Supreme Court ruling stating that the term “woman” refers to biological sex in the Equality Act 2010, Burnham stated: “I think the time has come to take the Supreme Court ruling and the guidance and implement it, but to do it in a way that protects those spaces but does not marginalise already marginalised communities, that’s my view.”
Conversion practices
In 2022, when he was Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham announced a commitment to oppose the practice of conversion “therapy” in Greater Manchester.
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