Cllr Georgia Gould

• CAMDEN Council will be marching in this year’s London Pride for the first time in almost 20 years.

This year is 50 years since the Stonewall riots in New York, and we are proud to be marching to honour the legacy of generations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists who have fought and protested for legal recognition, equality and to live free of fear.

Camden has a great history of LGBT+ protest and activism, from the solidarity of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, the pioneering drag artistry at the Black Cap, and the first LGBT+ trade union conference hosted in a children’s nursery in Camden in 1983.

I will be at Pride, along with a number of fellow councillors and council staff, celebrating our Camden LGBT+ community and making a public commitment to doing all we can to make Camden a safe and welcoming place for all LGBT+ people.

On Monday July 8 we will host a discussion at our full council meeting on the experience of Camden’s LGBT+ community, focusing on what we as a council and civic leader can do to advance and ensure equality.

While it is 50 years since Stonewall, and just over 30 years since the establishment of Stonewall in the UK, we must not be complacent about defending the progress that has been made, and fighting to address the inequality and prejudice that still exists. In Camden we have seen a rise in homophobic and transphobic attacks since 2011.

We are clear that our LGBT+ citizens and families are part of what makes our community so special – they are pupils, students, parents, grandparents, politicians, community leaders, activists, colleagues and neighbours. They make our Camden community proud.

CLLR GEORGIA GOULD
Leader of Camden Council