UKIP to march in London Pride for the first time

UKIP’s LGBT group will march in this year’s London Pride parade for the first time ever.

According to the event’s official lineup, UKIP LGBT+ will take part in the Pride in London event on Saturday June 27, after making its first application to do so.

Many of its most prominent members have caused ongoing controversy for making homophobic remarks, while leader Nigel Farage faced a backlash during this year’s general election campaign after blaming foreign-born HIV patients for putting a strain on NHS funding.

As well as opposing equal marriage, UKIP was the only major party not to mention LGBT issues in its election manifesto earlier this year.

The party’s inclusion in Pride in London is already causing controversy, with a petition already circulating calling for the party to be banned from taking part in the parade because of it’s poor record on LGBT rights.

The petition states: “Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP, clearly does not support the values of acceptance that Pride promotes, and UKIP is an inherently homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, racist and misogynistic political party.

“UKIP’s inclusion in Pride has already caused public outcry and many have stated they would feel unhappy and unsafe to have a UKIP group included in Pride 2015’s march, being that they are from an organisation that inherently does not support the values of acceptance and inclusion that Pride promotes.”

The Pride website states: “Pride in London reserves the right to exclude from Pride in London events any organisation whose policies or leadership do not support the values of acceptance and inclusion that Pride promotes.”

Meanwhile n its Facebook page, UKIP LGBT+ says it aims “to represent the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer/questioning (etc.) members of UKIP within the Party.”

Responding to the controversy, a Pride in London spokesperson said all organisations taking part must comply with the event’s code of conduct, but that they do not discriminate against groups on the basis of political affiliation.

“Pride in London is inclusive of all LGBT+ groups, including political groups and – as with all entrants – they must sign and comply with our code of conduct.” he said.

“We provide a platform for every part of the LGBT+ community and respect the principles of free speech. We do not discriminate against people based on their political affiliation, and all political parties taking part in the Parade will be positioned together in the same section.

“However, Pride in London will continue to monitor community reaction and include the Community Advisory Board in this conversation.”

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