- Conference
- 2025 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 31 July 2025
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes that after years of austerity under successive Conservative Governments—and continuing under the current Labour Government—many councils remain under severe financial pressure. Chronic underfunding of local government has created a financial climate in which Pride organisers have increasingly seen the withdrawal of local authority funding for Pride events.
Recently a small number of councils have taken decisions not to fly Progress flags on town halls. Reform led administrations in local government have attempted to not fly Progress flags during Pride Month and to alter how councils celebrate Pride across their local authorities.
Pride events in the UK have also struggled with funding cuts from other sources, including corporate sponsorships. Bi Pride UK announced it was cancelling its 2025 event, citing a drop corporate funding.
We have seen an increase in attacks on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) budgets, driven by local government budget shortfalls and the rise of far-right and Reform. These attacks have led to the withdrawal of financial support for local Prides and a broader rollback of EDI initiatives. This leaves more space for discrimination and results in increasingly unsafe workplaces for LGBT+ members, and for members of our other Self-Organised Groups.
Internationally, we are also seeing a rise in anti-LGBT+ movements. Across Europe, there are growing attempts to ban Pride events, while in the United States, there is open political hostility to federal spending on LGBT+ organisations and events.
Conference believes that Pride is a protest, but also a celebration of our diverse community. Prides are vital spaces for marching on the issues of the day, reflecting on progress made, and providing visibility and belonging. Every year is someone’s first Pride. These events help individuals connect with community, build solidarity, and access trade union support. Pride events, locally, nationally, and internationally, strengthen the LGBT+ community and its allies.
As a trade union, UNISON has a crucial role to play: acting locally, thinking globally, and helping to defend Pride spaces. If we do not act, we risk losing them forever.
We call on the National LGBT+ Committee to:
1)Create communications for branch secretaries to understand why branches should attend local pride events and how they can challenge employers who become hostile to pride events.
2)Work with regional LGBT+ Committees to have a UNISON presence at major pride events in their regions.
3)Liaise with National Local Government Service Group Executive to assess and document the impact of local government cuts on Pride and EDI initiatives and develop strategies to support branches to resist these.
4)Liaise with the UNISON International Committee to send messages of solidarity to Pride events and organisers internationally, particularly in countries where Pride is under threat.