Indeed, the likes of Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, and even Kemi Badenoch, the Equalities Minister, have all apparently been too busy to send so much as a sympathetic tweet or, better yet, announce an action plan to prevent these kinds of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks from happening in the first place. Make no mistake, that’s not to say the Labour Party has been perfect on this either, but we’ve at least seen its leader, Keir Starmer, condemn the incident in its entirety – is that too much to ask for from those in government? Instead, in the week since the stabbing, Sunak found the time to respond to Jeremy Clarkson’s annual (and insufferable) tweet about his A-Level results, while Braverman spouted her routine claims of “working to keep the British people safe” without reassuring the UK’s LGBTQ+ community that the Conservative Party is on its side in the wake of this vicious attack.
Perhaps most alarmingly, however, is Badenoch (whose job entails overseeing equality and tackling discrimination) also remaining silent – something that feels all the more distressing given her less than golden track record on LGBTQ+ issues. Having already faced calls to consider her position in the Equalities Office given that she mocked same-sex marriage, referred to trans women as “men” and opposed a number of LGBTQ-inclusive policies – all while flying the flag for gender-critical beliefs – this was a chance for Badenoch to show the community the bare minimum level of support at a time when we need leadership most. Apparently she didn’t see the need.
When approached by GAY TIMES for comment on the stabbing, which took place on the same day Badenoch’s department announced an absurd crackdown on gender-neutral toilets, her team instead provided a quote from the government’s ministerial lead on LGBTQ+ equalities, Stuart Andrew, who said “everyone should feel safe to be themselves” and urged those with information to come forward. Badenoch’s team did not address the part of our request that asked about her priorities when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights and/or her plan to reduce the number of hate crimes taking place in society. Sunak’s team did not respond to a similar request for comment by GAY TIMES, while Braverman’s gave us a quote from an unnamed government spokesperson that called the incident “deeply concerning”. They also stated that “it’s right that we give the police space to investigate this incident”, adding that “it would be inappropriate to comment further while an investigation is ongoing” – even though the Met already publicly confirmed that the stabbing was being treated as homophobic.