The CEO of Greater Manchester’s LGBTQ+ youth charity The Proud Trust has written an open letter to all candidates hoping to become the next Mayor of Greater Manchester, urging whoever is elected to champion LGBTQ+ young people across the region. The letter follows a 171% increase in referrals to the charity after the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, with CEO Rachel Williams arguing that Greater Manchester’s next mayor has a responsibility to ensure every LGBTQ+ young person feels safe, valued and able to thrive.

Dear Candidates,

Whoever becomes the next Mayor of Greater Manchester won’t just inherit responsibility for transport, housing and economic growth, you’ll inherit one of the most proudly diverse city regions in the country and with that comes a responsibility to protect the communities that make Greater Manchester what it is.

For generations, LGBTQ+ people have looked to Manchester as somewhere they could belong. It’s a city built on activism, visibility and solidarity, but that reputation wasn’t inevitable, and it isn’t guaranteed forever.

At The Proud Trust, we’re privileged to work alongside thousands of LGBTQ+ young people every year. We hear about the schools where they don’t feel safe, the bullying that still exists, the families struggling to understand them, and the anxiety many carry simply because of who they are. Following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, referrals to our charity increased by 171%. That tells us that LGBTQ+ young people are looking for reassurance, safety and hope at a time when many feel increasingly uncertain about their future.

That fear hasn’t appeared in isolation, over recent years we’ve watched public and political discourse around LGBTQ+ communities, in particular towards trans and non-binary people, become increasingly hostile, divisive and dehumanising. Rights that many believed had been secured are now regularly questioned, while young people’s identities have become the subject of political debate, media headlines and culture wars. When the adults shaping those conversations speak about LGBTQ+ lives as though they are problems to solve rather than people to support, young people hear that too. They absorb it, they internalise it, and too many begin questioning whether there is still a place for them in the communities they call home.

The next Mayor has an opportunity to send a very different message, not through rainbow logos every summer or speeches during Pride, but through the decisions you make every day. It means championing inclusive education, protecting youth services, ensuring LGBTQ+ organisations are valued and supported, making sure public services understand the communities they serve, and being prepared to speak up when misinformation, prejudice and division threaten the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ communities. Leadership isn’t about waiting until inclusion is popular, it’s about standing up for people when they need you most.

Young people don’t need politicians to have all the answers, but they do need them to listen. Every decision you make over the coming years will help shape the Greater Manchester today’s children grow up in. Will it continue to be somewhere LGBTQ+ young people feel proud to call home? Somewhere they know they belong? Somewhere they believe their future matters?

I hope every one of you will make that commitment, because the true measure of a city isn’t its skyline or its economy, it’s whether every young person growing up there knows they are safe, valued and free to be themselves.

Yours sincerely,
Rachel Williams
CEO, The Proud Trust
www.TheProudTrust.org