The Independent Pride List 2025: LGBT+ people who are making change happen

Our list celebrates community's trailblazers and ambassadors

- EMMA HENDERSON

LGBT+ rights have been at the forefront of the political agenda over the past year, but rarely for positive reasons.

April’s Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman in the Equality Act, which only refers to biological gender and doesn’t include trans women, has been condemned by resident doctors, and critics say it only perpetuates the polarisation on the issue, despite Sir Keir Starmer claiming it brought clarity.

It makes this Pride month particularly important as we champion those in the LGBT+ community who are trailblazers in their field – from sports to music, politics to fashion. It’s why we need to shine a light not just on the annual showcase of culture and rights, rooted in both celebration and protest, but on what is happening all year round.

Around the world, the far right continues to weaponise LGBT+ rights, with Donald Trump’s re-election rolling back progress. We’ve witnessed a slew of policies imposing restrictions on LGBT+ culture, erasing transgender, diversity, equity and inclusion programming not only in government, but also across education and business too, including giants such as Meta, which critics are calling dangerous and immoral. Even more alarmingly, where America goes, other countries often follow.

In October, Georgia enacted a law criminalising the promotion of LGBT+ rights, while December saw Mali’s new junta outlaw homosexuality altogether.

There are glimmers of hope and positivity, including Australia voting to bolster its LGBT+ rights and protection with legislation that explicitly includes sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status in its hate crime laws. Certain Australian jurisdictions have also banned gay conversion therapy.

Despite the growing hostility towards the trans community in the UK, the number of lesbian, gay and bisexual people (especially among the young) continues to grow, according to recent Office for National Statistics figures.