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Do we take LGBT+ rights for granted in the UK?

29th May - 5th June 2026

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43015

Total votes

10500

5-11 votes

32515

11-16+ votes

June marks the start of Pride month and the Fifa Men’s World Cup. The 2022 tournament sparked debate around LGBT+ rights in host nation, Qatar, and this year has also seen some LGBT+ fan groups boycotting due to rollbacks of rights in host nations: the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Pride gives a valuable opportunity to celebrate the LGBT+ community and a chance to reflect on their history and the rights they have fought hard to win. A 2023 YouGov poll found that over three quarters of Britons supported same-sex marriage and 77% said that Britain was a tolerant country for gay and lesbian people. However, in ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map index of LGBT+ rights, the UK has dropped from 1st place in 2015 to to 22nd place in 2026. Often thought of as the most progressive demographic, we wanted to know how young people saw the state of LGBT+ rights in the UK.

Primary 5-9 voters were asked, "Is it important to learn about everyone’s rights?"

Primary 9-11 voters discussed, "“Do we value LGBT+ rights?”

The Secondary, 16+ & College question was, “Do we take LGBT+ rights for granted in the UK?"

43,015 young people in the UK took part in this vote.

child

5-11 voter

Though we do value LGBT+ rights, we are not safe enough for LGBT+ people [...] if there's one person scared to be LGBT+, that's too many [...]

11-16 voter

The surge in far right views and opinions of recent years is a worrying thing for LGBT+ rights. This is something we need to be mindful of.

student

11-16 voter

We have a whole month celebrating LGBT+ and laws, so we are going in the right direction.

At Primary, almost 2/3 voted that we value LGBT+ rights.

  • 83.6% of Primary 5-9 pupils voted that it was important to learn about everyone's rights.
  • The most common argument in favour was that learning about rights could when standing up for others.
  • 9-11-year olds generally thought that LGBT+ rights were valued in the UK.
  • However, many did argue that there is more that could and should be done.
Almost 2/3 of Secondary and 16+ & College voters said that we do not take LGBT+ rights for granted.

  • Many Secondary students were shocked to hear about the UK's drop to 22nd place on the Rainbow Map LGBT+ rights tracker.
  • They shared the view of their Primary peers that, while the UK is generally supportive country for LGBT+ people, there is still more progress to be made.
  • Some voters shared concerns about the impact that political trends in the UK could have for the LGBT+ community.
Across all ages, voters thought that the UK was generally a supportive place for LGBT+ people but that there was still more that could be done.

  • Voters on the whole expressed a feeling that people should be respected and allowed to live their lives regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Students at both Primary and Secondary reported having either experienced or witnessed homophobic behaviour first-hand.
results