‘COMMUNITY power’ was on show at a protest against Warwickshire County Council’s ‘hateful’ plans to remove LGBTQ+ books from the county’s libraries.
The protest, outside the council’s Shire Hall headquarters in Warwick, was in opposition to the council’s Reform UK leader Coun George Finch’s announcement last month that his administration would seek to remove materials relating to ‘sex, gender and identity’ from libraries, claiming they were ‘promoting contested gender ideology’.
Cabinet member Coun Wayne Briggs has also been accused of hate speech by claiming in a leaked email that the LGBTQ+ Pride movement has been “hijacked by groomers and mentally ill men in dresses”.
Warwickshire Pride Chair Daniel Browne said the protest was a ‘strong show of community power’.
He said: “The protest was well attended by people from various communities and not just LGBTQ+ people, who really need allies at the moment.
“Certain councillors were typically rude and dismissive, but there are also councillors from Labour, the Lib Dems, and the Greens supporting protests, standing up for what is right, and speaking out against the ongoing attacks on LGBTQ+ communities.
“We work with over 500 LGBTQ+ people weekly via our support services and social activities. We see first hand the damage and distress that words and actions such as those coming from Warwickshire County Council’s Reform administration causes.
“It’s causing stress, anxiety, depression, and mental distress among a lot of LGBTQ+ people. It’s also inciting hatred towards LGBTQ+ people.
“It’s not ok – the hate from the general public, and the hateful agenda of the Reform administration.
“We will continue to stand against what is happening and continue supporting LGBTQ+ communities who really need us at this time of growing crisis.”
Last month, Coun Finch said his administration would work on a policy to ‘provide parents with peace of mind that their children are not being told to believe one set of political ideas over any other’.
He said: “Libraries should be politically neutral, and not seek to embolden political ideologies. The council should not be actively promoting contested political or ideological causes to children.
“This policy will cover not just our libraries, but all Warwickshire County Council-owned public spaces.”
In an email leaked last month, Coun Briggs, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families, Education and SEND, said: “This (Pride) movement has been hijacked by groomers and mentally ill men in dresses gyrating in front of children and pushing a delusion that you can somehow change from male to female and vice versa if you’re unhappy with your own body. This is a dangerous ideology.”
