Surrey Pride loses county council official support

Surrey County Council (SCC) has withdrawn its official support for the county's Pride event.

In a statement, the authority said it did not believe Pride In Surrey to be "truly representative" of the whole LGBTQ+ community, after it said "concerns" had been raised.

It means the council's employees and services, including Surrey Fire and Rescue, will not be officially attending the event on 6 September.

Charlie Watts, chief executive of Surrey Pride, described the decision as "confusing" and as part of a "troubling" trend.

Terence Herbert, chief executive of SCC, said: "While we continue to wholeheartedly support the LGBTQ+ community in Surrey, there have been concerns raised about Pride in Surrey as an organisation.

"At this time we do not believe Pride in Surrey to be truly representative of the whole LGBTQ+ community," he said.

"This decision does not change our ongoing commitment to LGBTQ+ people, and we firmly believe everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression."

Mr Herbert said: "We will continue to work with other representative organisations across the county to champion the rights of protected groups, and we continue to be a strong advocate of our LGBTQ+ staff network who we are engaging with fully on this issue."

The county council has not actively sponsored the event since 2021.

In June the former founder of Surrey Pride, Stephen Ireland, was jailed for raping a 12-year-old boy.

The BBC understands this was a factor in the authority's decision.

Mr Watts said the news of Mr Ireland's arrest had broken in June 2024, at which point he was removed from the organisation, and prior to Pride in Surrey 2024.

He said: "As far as we are aware, Surrey County Council has not publicly stated the Stephen Ireland court case as a factor in their decision to remove "support" from Pride in Surrey.

"The news of Mr Ireland's arrest broke prior to Pride in Surrey 2024, at which point he was no longer part of the organisation. Surrey County Council were happy to attend the event.

"Since last year's event, Pride in Surrey's structure has not significantly changed, nor have SCC raised any concerns about our organisation before this decision. As such, we find the reasoning behind this decision confusing.

"Pride in Surrey is concerned that their decision not to attend this year's event may indicate a wider shift within the organisation to withdraw support from LGBTQ+ organisations.

"At a time where Pride organisations across the country are facing increased attacks, particularly amongst our trans community, this trend is troubling," Mr Watts said.

"All SCC staff are still welcome to attend and enjoy the day in their personal time.

"SCC claim Pride in Surrey is not truly representing the whole LGBTQ+ community is something we reject completely, and one they have provided no evidence for," he said.

"We work tirelessly year round to celebrate and represent everyone within our community and we pride ourselves on creating a welcoming event that brings together Surrey's LGBTQ+ community.

"We do not believe it is the place of councils to tell queer organisations whether they are representative or not, and believe this sets a worrying precedent."

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