Anne Patrizio MBE was a British retired teacher and leading campaigner for LGBT rights in Scotland. [1]
As one of the principal organisers of Parents Enquiry Scotland, Patrizio supported parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament in support of gay law reform. [2] [3]
The Green Party of England and Wales is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay have served as the party's co-leaders. The party currently has four representatives in the House of Commons and two in the House of Lords, in addition to over 800 councillors at the local government level and three members of the London Assembly.
The Scottish Greens are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 2022 local elections, the party sits on 13 of the 32 Scottish local councils, with a total of 36 councillors. They held two ministerial posts in the first Yousaf government following a power-sharing agreement with the SNP from August 2021 until the end of the Bute House Agreement in April 2024, marking the first time Green Party politicians formed part of a government in the UK.
John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who has served as the First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since May 2024. He previously served as the leader of the SNP from 2000 to 2004 as Leader of the Opposition, and held various roles within the Scottish Cabinet from 2007 to 2023 under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Swinney was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North Tayside from 1999 to 2011 and, following boundary changes, has been MSP for Perthshire North since 2011. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.
Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2010 to 2015. He is also known for his advocacy of a pro-European stance within his party's policies.
James Alexander Stewart Stevenson is a Scottish former politician who served as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change from 2007 to 2010 and Minister for Environment and Climate Change from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, formerly Banff and Buchan, from 2001 to 2021.
Wendy Alexander is a retired Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2007 to 2008. In 2010–2011 she convened the Scotland Bill Committee on financial powers of the Scottish Parliament.
David Thomas Charles Davies is a British politician who was Secretary of State for Wales from 2022 to 2024. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Monmouth from 2005 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he chaired the Welsh Affairs Select Committee from 2010 to 2019. Davies also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales from 2019 to 2022, and as Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for Monmouth from 1999 to 2007.
Michael William Russell is a Scottish politician serving as Chairman of the Scottish Land Commission since 2024, having previously served in the Scottish Cabinet under Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Argyll and Bute from 2011 to 2021, and a list MSP for South of Scotland from 1999 to 2003 and 2007 to 2011.
Patrick Harvie is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights from 2021 to 2024. He has served as one of two co-leaders of the Scottish Greens since 2008, and is one of the first Green politicians in the UK to serve as a government minister. Harvie has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2003.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have developed significantly over time. Today, lesbian, gay and bisexual rights are considered to be advanced by international standards.
In the United Kingdom and the British Islands, any household watching or recording television transmissions at the same time they are being broadcast is required by law to hold a television licence. This applies regardless of transmission method, including terrestrial, satellite, cable, or for BBC iPlayer internet streaming. The television licence is the instrument used to raise revenue to fund the BBC and S4C.
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Scotland are generally in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, which have evolved extensively over time and are now regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe. In both 2015 and 2016, Scotland was recognised as the "best country in Europe for LGBTI legal equality".
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Scotland since 16 December 2014. As family law is not reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Parliament has legislative competence to make changes to the law on marriage. A same-sex marriage law was approved by the Scottish Parliament in February 2014 and received royal assent on 12 March 2014. It came into effect on 16 December with many civil partners converting their relationships into marriages, while the first same-sex marriage ceremonies occurred on 31 December 2014. Civil partnerships for same-sex couples have been legal in Scotland since 2005.
John MacKenzie Nicolson is a Scottish journalist, broadcaster and Scottish National Party (SNP) politician.
Section 28 or Clause 28 was a legislative designation for a series of laws across Britain that prohibited the "promotion of homosexuality" by local authorities. Introduced by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, it was in effect from 1988 to 2000 in Scotland and from 1988 to 2003 in England and Wales. It caused many organisations such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender student support groups to close, limit their activities or self-censor.
Kevin Morrice Stewart is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Minister for Transport from 29 March 2023 to 6 June 2023. He is a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Aberdeen Central since 2011. He previously served as Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care from 2021 to 2023 and as Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning from 2016 to 2021.
Marco Biagi is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He served as the Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment from 2014 to 2016, and as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Central from 2011 to 2016.
The Organisation of Scottish Labour is a body established under the national rules of the UK Labour Party.
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which allows same-sex couples to marry in Scotland since 16 December 2014.