Pride events across Britain are calling for a public apology from leading LGBT charity Stonewall, GSN can exclusively reveal.
They are also demanding the charity changes its ways, with one Pride accusing it of ‘acting like the bloody LGBT police’. Other Prides accuse Stonewall of taking credit for their work but failing to support them.
Gay Star News has obtained a copy of the results of the survey of Pride organisers. The UK Pride Organisers Network will present the report to Stonewall when they meet with the charity in the next few minutes.
And it is likely to make uncomfortable reading for the charity.
In particular, 53 Prides responded to the question ‘Generally, how supportive do you find Stonewall?’ They gave the organisation a score of just 3.2 out of 10. Moreover, only one Pride gave Stonewall a 10 out of 10, with 15 giving a score of only one.
Why are Prides angry with Stonewall now?
Stonewall marched at Pride in London
The survey indicates Pride groups have a number of complaints about Britain’s leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender charity, going back a number of years.
But two events appear to have triggered the UK Pride Organisers Network and European Pride Organisers Association to survey their members.
In February this year, Stonewall pulled out of Pride in London, claiming it had failed to include and represent people of color. Instead, Stonewall threw its weight behind UK Black Pride.
However, some black and Asian people disagreed with Stonewall’s decision, saying they felt they were being forced to choose between the two events. They also said the charity should have consulted them before making the decision.
Then in May, Stonewall announced they were partnering with budget clothing and homeware store Primark. Primark will give 20% of the proceeds of its 2018 Pride collection to the charity.
Prides are angry the cash is going to a comparatively well-off charity, while many of them are struggling.
Again there is some history to the row. Last year, Primark angered Manchester Pride by selling Pride-branded products in the city but not supporting the event. Primark’s branch in Manchester, north west England, is believed to be the biggest of the firm’s 257 worldwide stores.
What Prides think of Stonewall
The report contains detailed comments from many of the organisers of Prides around the UK.
While some recognize the ‘great work [Stonewall does] for the LGBT+ community’, most of the comments are negative.
One Pride said: ‘They are like a bank rather than a charity. [They] hold vast amounts of cash reserves whilst LGBT need goes unmet and other LGBT charities making a difference on the ground are closing.’
Stonewall had an income of £7,246,000 ($9,530,000, €8,184,000) last year. When their last financial year ended, on 30 September 2017, they held almost £5million ($6.6million, €5.6million) of reserves.
Several of the Prides say Stonewall doesn’t attend their events. When the charity does attend, the Prides claim they haggle for the lowest possible cost for a stall. On average, Prides make around a quarter of their income from selling market stalls.
Others accuse Stonewall of failing to be involved in local LGBTI communities, only visiting their town or city once a year.
Many of the Prides accuse the charity of ‘profiteering’ from their events. They suggest Stonewall should work in partnership with them and even provide financial support.
What they want Stonewall to do
The biggest take-away from the comments from Prides which completed the survey is that Stonewall should work in partnership with them.
They want the charity to show ‘humility’. Some indicated Stonewall currently tries to control what Prides do. One called on the organisation to ‘Stop acting like the bloody LGBT Police. They need to “get over it”.’
The UK Pride Organisers Network report makes several recommendations.
They ask Stonewall to share the profits from Primark between Prides and organisations working in Turkey, Myanmar and China.
In addition they want Stonewall chief executive, Ruth Hunt, to say sorry. They want her to acknowledge ‘the disquiet among Pride organisers about their conduct’ and commit to working with Prides in future.
Moreover, they want Stonewall to promise they won’t take any future sponsorship or fundraising deal that ‘includes the word Pride’. This is likely to prove a difficult pledge for Stonewall to make, given their need to fundraise.
Stonewall responds
Gay Star News approached Stonewall asking them seven questions, to give them a full opportunity to respond to our story.
They have declined to comment until they have reviewed the full report.
Declaration of interest: Gay Star News created and manages Digital Pride, which is part of the UK Pride Organisers Network. GSN is also a partner of the Prides in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Manchester and of UK Black Pride.
UPDATE: Stonewall has now issued a response, although they failed to answer any of our questions.
A Stonewall spokesperson said: ‘Despite the progress we’ve made as a movement we still have a long way to go until we can say all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are accepted without exception.
‘Prides are often volunteer-led and take an enormous amount of time, effort and resource to host. They are essential to the communities they serve because they enable the visibility and celebration of LGBT people.
‘Stonewall is also working towards acceptance for all LGBT people, both here and abroad, alongside activists, organisations and local groups in the UK and in countries across the world. There’s so much more to do before everyone has full equality.
‘We welcome conversations with Prides on how we can move forward as one movement.’
