Thank you Imran for that lovely introduction. The work you have done over the past 5 years has been astonishing and without you the Patchwork Foundation, and this event wouldn’t exist.

Ladies and Gentlemen and distinguished guests; thank you very much for attending the Patchwork Foundation Breaking Barriers LGBT+ event tonight. Your support means a great deal.

The reason for this event starts with a 14-year-old teenage boy, 12 years ago. This boy was surrounded by people who looked, acted and sounded the same. They shared the same interests, the same religion and liked the same girls.

However, this particular boy was different. He had something inside of him, a feeling that he just couldn’t shake, but one that he prayed would disappear. He would lock himself in his bedroom, struggling with thoughts of guilt and longing, which left him feeling naughty, unnatural and wrong.

What the hell was going on? Why was he having these feelings? Why did God make him feel this way? School told him that being gay was wrong, the youth movement he was heavily involved with ran sessions that claimed being gay wasn’t even real .

His family and friends were not much better, often speaking homophobically, unaware of the effect their words had on their son, friend and brother.

Days, weeks, months and years were taken up fighting these feelings and trying to come to terms with them. He even tried to pretend he was straight by entering into a string of unsuccessful, heterosexual relationships.

That boy, as you’ve no doubt guessed, was me. And although my numerous ‘girlfriends’ earnt me the brief reputation of a lothario, it only added to my deep unhappiness.

Like so many LGBT+ people, it was only after I left the familiarity of home that I truly began to accept myself and my sexuality.

Moving away to university and surrounding myself with open-minded people, making friends who were LGBT+ and learning more about who I was and the world in general, instilled in me the bravery to come out to my family.

And with the weight of this lifelong secret lifted from my shoulders, I could finally pursue the things I’d always been inherently passionate about.

It may not surprise you to learn that one of the things I am most passionate about, is politics. I was advised by my new friends to join my uni’s LGBT+ Society, where I was quickly elected to the position of Union Secretary. This was my first experience of political engagement, and only further added to my passion for the subject.

I remained heavily involved with student politics throughout my time in university, but worried about leaving the comfort of my newfound home behind.

I knew that I wanted to remain involved and support the politics that I believed in, but I was worried that my sexulaity would hinder me.

I felt this was partly due the lack of LGBT+ representation across the political spectrum. Same-sex marriage was not yet legal and I felt the subject of LGBT+ equality was largely ignored.

There may have been some great LGBT+ and straight politicians fighting for equality, but we were ignored legislatively, with members of my community still subjected to social ridicule and abuse on a daily basis.

I was once again haunted by the feelings of rejection and fear I’d grown up with, scared that if I spoke publicly about my sexuality, I too would face the same bigotry.

Rather than face these fears head on, I took a step back from politics for nearly two years, focussing my energies instead in trying to fight this bigotry by working for charities such as Stonewall.

That was when I found the Patchwork Foundation, through their Masterclass Programme and Party Conference Programme.

Patchwork exists to engage underrepresented and minority communities in politics. Being a part of this family has empowered me to overcome my fears and take a stand.

At Patchwork Foundation our aim is to open doors, whether it’s through hosting GetInvolved sessions that offer people the chance to learn how to campaign, hosting events such as the London Mayoral Question Time later in the month or through our Masterclass programme which this year includes one on one sessions with Ian Duncan Smith, Justine Greening and Melanie Dawes, as well as a visit to Number 10.

We also honour the great work that MPs do through our MP of The Year awards.

We are here at this event to listen to the amazing work that our panel and chair have done for the LGBT+ community, in order to inspire you in the audience to not be afraid, to speak out and to engage in politics.

I never imagined that I would be organising an event in Parliament with the great speakers you will hear from tonight but the confidence that Patchwork has given me has allowed me to do so.

On International Women’s day, it is apt that we are joined today by two inspirational women, Angela Eagle MP who was the first LGBT+ person to lead Prime Minister’s Questions and is currently the most senior LGBT+ person in politics and Angela Crawley MP who, in her role as Women’s and Equalities Spokesperson for the SNP, daily fights for the rights of those who are under-represented.

We also have Rt Hon Nick Herbert MP who Chairs the Global LGBT Rights All Party Parliamentary Group which seeks to ensure LGBT+ people throughout the world have the same legal rights as we do here in the UK. Finally we have our chair, Iain Dale, who through his show on LBC, unashamedly challenges bigotry on a daily basis.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this fight, our fight is only over when I can confidently walk down the street holding hands with my beautiful fiance, Joe. When a young LGBT+ person can feel that they can do whatever they dream without fear of discrimination and when we see a Prime Minister and their same-sex partner entering Number 10 without stigma.

I ask everybody gathered here tonight – whatever your background – to join us in this fight, to lend your support to the Patchwork Foundation and help us overcome the adversity that many of us still face.

I would like to now introduce our chair for the evening, LBC broadcaster and renowned publisher, Iain Dale.

Thank you.