Census reveals LGBT numbers

News

Just 1.5% of people in England and Wales identify as gay or lesbian, the latest data from the 2021 Census reveal. A further 1.5% consider themselves ‘bisexual’ or ‘pansexual’.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which publishes the Census data, has made much of the fact that just 89.4% of people identified as ‘straight’ or ‘heterosexual’. However, this figure may be significantly higher as 7.5% of people didn’t answer the question. There is no reason to think the large majority of those would not be ‘heterosexual’.

In light of the figures, many have asked why such a small proportion of the population exercises such an outsize influence over public policy.

One reason is because so many gay people live in major cities, especially London. The ONS has released the data by geographical area, and they show that the City of London is the local authority area with the highest proportion of lesbian and gay people, at 7.6%. This is more than five times the national average of 1.5%. This is sure to give Government a misleading impression of the true size of the gay population and exert an influence over the direction of policy.

Governments spend far too much time these days making policies to please tiny minorities rather than based on what is best for society as a whole. Marriage between one man and one woman has been shown again and again to be the surest foundation for a happy, healthy society.

If all the time and money spent on the latest LGBT fad was spent instead on strengthening marriage, who can doubt that our country would be in a much better place? At C4M we will continue to call on the Government to put real marriage at the heart of public policy.