Alan Carr, the comedian and arch-Traitor who tops our 2026 Pride List, says: “I don’t talk about being gay, and I think what better equality for gays than that?” There will be many who applaud this view.
Just as there are many who welcomed Rishi Sunak as the first Hindu prime minister and who thought that one of the best things about it was how rarely it was even commented on.
This is a restrained, “British” view of equality, which takes pride in not noticing difference, and respecting the private sphere as not the business of other people.
But there are many others who take a different view, an activist view, who see protest and the public assertion of rights as the motor that changes social attitudes over time.
The Independent is large, and contains multitudes, in Walt Whitman’s words. We were founded – 40 years ago this year – because there was a market for a newspaper that was not confined by the narrow tramlines of party or indeed any doctrine. We had a bias in favour of liberalism in the broadest sense: liberal in thought, liberal in social affairs, liberal in economics.
We had space for both approaches to the struggle for equal rights, whether defined by race, sex, sexual orientation or other identities, and The Independent Pride List, we think, is a blend of both. Simply by compiling the list, we seek to draw attention to LGBTQ+ people, even if some of them, like Carr, don’t talk about it.
All of them, no doubt, would disdain the label “role model”, but all of them, we think, have inspired others – either by simply being who they are or by shouting about LGBTQ+ rights from the metaphorical rooftops.
Both approaches have a role to play in making progress towards equality of respect and of opportunity for all, in Britain and around the world. This year we welcomed the end of Viktor Orban’s leadership in Hungary – he tried to ban the country’s Pride celebrations last year.
And alongside this Pride List we hope to promote the cause of equal rights throughout the Commonwealth. Abbey Kiwanuka, who fled Uganda in fear for his life, his hands and legs covered in cigarette burns as punishment for being gay, writes for us today to explain why he will be marching alongside Sir Ian McKellen to shame the 29 out of 56 Commonwealth countries that still criminalise same-sex relations.
We hope that The Independent’s commitment to openness and pluralism – combined with our dedication to honest and unflinching reporting – allows us to accommodate and reflect the different views about trans rights that have for so many complicated the struggle for equality.
That is why we include in this year’s Pride List people of differing and sometimes mutually incompatible views. The Independent is what it says: it believes that everyone has a contribution to make. We do not shy away from controversial voices. We trust our readers to make up their own minds.
And we agree with Bimini, the queer and gender-fluid musician, who features on the list at number four. “Touch grass, go outside, have a day off,” Bimini says. “Switch off the phones now and then, enjoy yourself and enjoy being young.” That includes trying out different approaches to life, making mistakes, and learning. “Go out, mess up, that’s how you grow and figure yourself out,” says the musician.
It is good advice for all those seeking to make Britain and the world better, fairer and more tolerant.
Progress has been made in the last 40 years and more. The Independent will never lose its indignation at the injustices that remain, but we remain optimistic that the striving is worthwhile, even if perfect equality can only be approached and never achieved.
