Little j

01/06/2026

YorkLGBTforum/Lj had great pleasure welcoming the Lord Mayor, Sheriff and Civic Party at the YorkLGBTforum stall, as well as the C*C Leader ClIr Claire Douglas, C*C Chief Executive Richard Webb and C*C Human Rights, Equality & Inclusion executive member ClIr Katie Lomas.
We had lovely positive chats and look forward to working together over the years ahead.
C*C identifies itself as a “trans inclusive city”, we’ll continue to proactively push to unite our LGBTQI+ community, represent all voices LOUDLY as the Forum wants our equity-led Human Rights City York to become the “Brighton of the North” it should have always been.

31/05/2026

From our Mike Kearney (Little j):

City of York Council, a.k.a. Labour Council, say they celebrate inclusion. If so, where was their statement opposing their Labour Westminster colleagues destruction of trans people’s inclusion in public life?

York Labour have said nothing in support of LGBT+ people against their own party’s destructive EHRC guidance. Their words here are empty.

Shame on you York Pride for not standing up for all LGBT+ people against these attacks from Labour and providing a platform for a political party attacking LGBT+ rights.
——
Hazell Burkhill what exactly do you think Pride is? A party? Pride is and always has been political. LGBT+ rights were not handed to us. Every right we won was fought for through political struggle. Many LGBT+ died for our liberation. To dismiss our history and our need for future political battles for LGBT+ rights is a disgrace. How do you intend LGBT+ people fight for their rights if not through politics? You want us to sit quietly to the side like nodding dogs. Keep us in our place? Never going to happen.

Pride is, and always has been, political. Plenty of history has been written about this, please read it.
——
Mick Allan can you tell me the quaint history of LGBT+ liberation then? I am all ears at how you intend on sanitising our history.
——
Mick Allan would you say that to the families of tens of thousands of young people who have committed su***de because society hasn’t accepted them? What about the gay victims of AIDS who were demonised and tossed away by Thatcher? What about the tens of thousands of men who were sacked and refused employment for being gay, many of whom took their own lives rather than live with the shame. What about Alan Turing? What about the Stonewall riots? What about the homopbia in the Met and Edward Cornes? What about Rachael Maskell MP voting against same-sex marriage? What about the fact that conversion therapy is still legal in England? What about the recent EHRC guidance shutting out trans people from daily life?

Is that all hyperbole?

Please enlighten us hyperbolic g**s with your superior wisdom and experience of being gay.
——
…. [txt box full]

13/05/2026

Flags are up!

12/05/2026

:(

The UK’s collapse down Europe’s LGBTQ+ rights rankings has now continued for another year 📉🏳️‍🌈

According to ILGA-Europe’s latest Rainbow Map, the UK has fallen from first place to 22nd in just a few years, with its overall score now dropping again to 44%, two points lower than last year.

ILGA-Europe says the decline is closely tied to worsening protections for Trans people, particularly following last year’s Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of “sex”.

Human rights lecturer and Trans+ Solidarity Alliance policy adviser Sandra Duffy responded:

“The fact our score has decreased yet again, and we have plummeted from number one all the way down the list on LGBT+ rights, is shameful.”

They added: “It reflects this government’s lack of action to protect trans people and we will keep dropping unless Labour reset their approach to transgender equality.”

In its report, ILGA-Europe specifically named the UK alongside Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Russia and Slovakia as countries failing to provide a functioning legal framework for Trans people to change their legal gender following the court ruling.

From number one in Europe to 22nd. That’s not a culture war headline, it’s an international human rights ranking.

Image via: https://rainbowmap.ilga-europe.org/
Source: Gay Star News

04/05/2026

LGBTQI+ safe spaces are need now more than ever…

On 29th April 2026 the Crime and Policing Bill received Royal Assent, changing the law to make anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime an aggravated offence. This change in law brings penalties for anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime in line with offences motivated by race and religion, and will give LGBTQ+ victims and survivors more time to access criminal justice.

Expanding aggravated offences to include all characteristics covered in hate crime legislation was a recommendation first made by the Law Commission in 2021. The commitment was included in the Labour Party’s manifesto in 2024.

This legislative change comes amidst an increase in hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community in recent years. In the last five years official police-recorded hate crime based on sexual orientation has increased by 20% and those based on trans identity have increased by 50%. Galop also saw a 27% increase in hate crime calls to their National LGBT+ Abuse and Violence Helpline during the last reporting year.

(Text: https://www.stonewall.org.uk/news/law-change-equalises-punishment-for-anti-lgbtq-hate-crime)

21/04/2026

Strangely there’s nothing in this report about closing York’s Little j LGBTQI+ community centre in 2025, forced by an ongoing bar on any film, dance, performance and music still not being signed off by Council ‘sealioning’ (even though every query answered immediately by our instructed sound engineers), contrary to basic public law and Art 1 ECHR

…AND arbitrary regulation controls peculiar to any LGBT+ daytime exercise classes, arts&crafts, support groups and all social gatherings, breaching Art 1 protocol 1 ECHR & Art 8.

“Sexual orientation-related hate crimes are the second most common form of hate crimes, increasing by 69.23% 30 (n=110), followed by disability-related hate crimes, which have increased by 25.93% (n=34)”.

https://yorkhumanrights.org/human-rights-in-york-the-state-of-the-city-2025

05/04/2026

St Helen’s Square Sat 11th April (or from 11am at Little j to make a placard)

22/02/2026

For the record: Why no q***r scene in North Yorkshire?

York actively supports a vibrant heteronormative nightlife, licensing to 5am with eight venues past 4am and many more past 3am (in 2022 DumDum, formerly Hook & Line chip shop, was licensed to 4:30am 7day/wk with no objection nor hearing).

Apart from j, there are no LGBT+ venues anywhere in the UK with calendar/notice conditions (nor any venue in York).

Any flexibility to be gained from events regulated by an onerous calendar wasn’t applied:— 2 door staff still mandated, even for dry events, films, early closing etc, and all licensable activities curtailed to 1AM midweek, prejudicing viability for any q***r venue.

The arbitrary calendar requires details of each of j’s LGBT+ daytime activities, “social gatherings, markets, art&crafts, support or exercise groups”(!) being ongoing breach of Art1&8 of the Human Rights Act, keeping Little j shut.

York’s licensing policies are non-compliant — their Equality Impact Assessment (link below) omits ‘sexual orientation’ & lacks any LGBT+ consultation, nor appears to follow C*C’s own Equity strategy.
(https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s182212/Annex%203%20-%20EIA.pdf)

“The first Human Rights City”, York!!!

21/02/2026

York LGBTQ+ History Month 2026 closing event at YorkSJ

19/02/2026

The Royal Vauxhall Tavern has been a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community since at least the 1960s. 🌈

On the site of the former Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, it's internationally known for its groundbreaking alternative cabaret and is an important venue for drag performances.

Listed at Grade II, it's one of the most historically significant LGBTQ+ venues in England.

Happy LGBT+ History Month! 🏳️‍🌈