PRESS RELEASE: EMBARGO UNTIL 22:30 ON THE 30TH OF DECEMBER
Luke Robert Black awarded MBE for services to politics.
Our Chairman, Luke Robert Black, has been nominated to His Majesty the King to become a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to politics. He became Chairman of the LGBT+ Conservatives in May 2023. He was previously our Deputy Chairman and Head of Communications from 2021 to 2023.
Luke joined the Conservative Party aged 14 in Gravesend where he spent many years campaigning locally and with fellow students at Gravesend Grammar School. When at University, Luke was the Vice-President of the Nottingham University Conservative Association (NUCA).
After moving to London, Luke became the founder and Chairman of the Wandsworth and Wimbledon Young Conservatives before later founding Blue Beyond – a Conservative Party affiliated youth wing that focussed on engaging young people outside of London in politics. Just six months later, Blue Beyond was invited to host a series of events at Conference and met the Party Chairman the Rt. Hon. Brandon Lewis to discuss youth members’ engagement with the party and housing policy.
During COVID, Blue Beyond raised tens of thousands of pounds for charities supporting NHS workers in the pandemic. Luke wrote several articles for the Telegraph, Times, Independent and the i, growing Blue Beyond to its peak of 3,500 members.
Luke then joined the LGBT+ Conservatives as a general council member, working his way up to Head of Communications, Deputy Chairman and eventually Chairman. In this time, the LGBT+ Conservatives has more than doubled its membership, led several campaigns on HIV reform and supported a record number of LGBT+ Conservatives in its elections.
Luke has campaigned for the Conservative Party in every major election since 2005 where he and his father Jeremy helped Adam Holloway become the Conservative MP for Gravesham.
Quotes
“I am proud to be a Parliamentary Patron of LGBT+ Conservatives, an organisation which has changed lives with successful campaigns for Same-Sex Marriage, to pardon LGBT veterans who suffered appalling discrimination, and to end all new cases of HIV in England by 2030.
As Chairman of LGBT+ Conservatives, Luke has been pivotal in building on this proud legacy by campaigning to roll out and expand HIV Opt-Out Testing, working on the first online pilot for PrEP, as well as removing barriers to IVF for lesbian couples.
Luke continues to lead the LGBT+ Conservatives with energy and distinction, and after a decade of service in politics I am thrilled that his hard work and commitment to improving lives in the LGBT+ community has been recognised. Many congratulations, Luke.”
Blake Stephenson MP, Conservative Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire and patron of the LGBT+ Conservatives
“I am delighted to see Luke’s work recognised. Encouraging people to speak up on issues that matter to all of us is vital to our democracy and to the strength of our society. This is a well-deserved award.”
The Rt. Hon. Tom Tugendhat MP, Conservative Member of Parliament for Tonbridge and long-term supporter of the LGBT+ Conservatives
“Luke is one of the hardest working people in politics I know. His dedication to the Conservative Party and the LGBT+ Conservatives is boundless. Luke has an incredible work ethic. He is diligent, assiduous and certainly doesn’t lack the fortitude to deal with the rough and tumble that can often come with working in politics. As an Exec Member of the LGBT+ Conservatives, and a former General election candidate, I have seen these qualities that Luke displays first hand, in the support he gave to me personally during this challenging general election year. I certainly couldn't have done it without his friendship, his relentless drive, and his ability to pick me up on the toughest of days. I am proud to call him my friend. I can think of no one better to receive this honour, well done Luke!”
Jamie Mulhall, Vice-Chair for Membership of the LGBT+ Conservatives and former Conservative Party Candidate for Derby South
“Luke has been a tireless driving force for the modernisation of the Conservative Party. As Chair of the LGBT+ Conservatives, he's grown the association to become one of the largest and most loved Conservative affiliate groups. As founder of Blue Beyond, he helped to put the challenge of winning back younger voters on the political map. He will have a huge role to play in the future of Conservatism.”
James Cowling, Managing Director of the Next Gen Tories
"It's not always easy being a gay Conservative, let alone one with a public-facing role such as Luke Robert Black. However, Luke is so focussed on improving the lives of LGBT+ people that he campaigns without fear and refuses to be deflected by the unpleasantness that many in a public role can face. He's been instrumental in influencing the direction of the Conservative Party, including for example, on the aim of zero HIV diagnoses by 2030”
John Gray, Secretary of the LGBT+ Conservatives and former Conservative Party Candidate for Exeter
“Luke has played a huge part in creating and building the conservative youth movement that we have. In creating Blue Beyond, Luke created something completely unique and magical that no one else has done, or can do. Luke created the pillars and bedrock of the only, and longest standing organisation for Young Conservatives. Through breaking the status quo, Luke gave a voice to so many Young Conservatives who were usually ignored through being seen as too working class, or not the ‘right type’. By founding Blue Beyond, Luke changed the trajectory of the conservative youth movement.
“On a personal level, Luke has had a huge effect on life today in so many ways. I would not be where I am today without Luke, he has given me friendships, career and so much more. I could not be prouder of Luke in receiving this nomination”.
Olivia Lever, Director of Blue Beyond
Summarised statement from Luke:
Responding to the announcement of this award, Luke Robert Black MBE said: “I cannot begin to articulate how grateful and how honoured I am to have been nominated to His Majesty the King to be a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)”.
“I have tried to give the Conservative Party as much as it has given me since I joined at the age of 14 and I hope to have had a positive impact on those who also call this party their home – be they members, voters, organisations or Conservative Party politicians themselves”.
“Next year, the LGBT+ Conservatives celebrates its 50th year anniversary. This makes us one of the oldest, if not the oldest, politically affiliated LGBT+ group in the world – a title we share with our rivals LGBT+ Labour”
“It wasn’t always easy to be a member of TORCHE (the Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality), LGBTory or the LGBT+ Conservatives. I know that I stand on the shoulders of giants – and people who ran, supported and organised this organisation often at great personal risk. This award is therefore as much theirs as it is mine – so thank you all”
“There are simply too many people to name and do justice to, but I hope that in 2025 we can truly honour the history, heritage and traditions of this organisation by paying thanks to those who met in secret and helped to secure the freedoms and the rights that so many of us take for granted now”.
“I am so proud of the LGBT+ Conservatives, the Conservative Party, my team and everything that we have achieved – and will continue to achieve as we work to win back voters’ trust and deliver a much-needed Conservative Party majority in 2029”
“The Conservative Party value you and I as individuals first, and not which box we would tick on a diversity form for a job application.”
“That’s why this organisation matters so much – and has mattered so much for the last 50 years. I accept this MBE today as a proud member of the LGBT+ Conservatives and look forward to the 50 years in which this organisation will thrive”.
You can read Luke’s full statement on our website here.
Key campaigns / milestones for the LGBT+ Conservatives (not exhaustive)
- 2011: Gender transition surgery added as a legally protected characteristic
- 2012: HAART Treatment for HIV rolled out in England
- 2012: The Tories issue first tranche of pardons to all LGBT+ people who were convicted or cautioned under old laws for consensual same-sex activity
- 2012: The Tories fund first ever HIV testing week
- 2012: National anti-bullying schemes rolled out for LGBT+ students
- 2013: The Tories fund first ever HIV testing campaign targeting BAME community
- 2013: Same Sex Marriage
- 2013: Alan Turing finally pardoned for his 1952 conviction for gross indecency
- 2014: The Tories legalise self-testing kits for HIV
- 2014: The Tories change the law so that trans people do not need to divorce their partner if they changed legal gender
- 2015: The Tories roll out self-testing in England
- 2017: The Tories roll out England PrEP trial
- 2017: The first ever LGBT+ survey of the population
- 2018: The Tories hit the 90-90-90 HIV targets, first country in the world
- 2019: The Conservatives elect the most openly LGBT+ MPs for any party, in any national legislature in the world – having more MPs than the entirety of Congress, and indeed more than several European national parliaments combined
- 2019: The Tories reduce HIV deaths by 51% since being in No 10
- 2019: The Tories commit to ending HIV by 2030 - only country to do so
- 2019: The Tories commission a commission to ending HIV, the only country in the world to do so
- 2019: Alan Turing placed on the £50 note
- 2020: The Tories roll out PrEP nationally in England
- 2020: Reform of Sex and Relationships education to include same-sex relationships
- 2020: Same-sex couples with civil partnerships allowed to convert their union into marriage
- 2021: The Tories reduce new diagnoses of HIV by 73% since being in government
- 2021: The number of people living over the age of 50 with HIV hits an all time high – and is one of the highest in the world
- 2021: The Tories introduced the first HIV Action Plan in the world to end HIV by 2030
- 2022: People with HIV, but no detectable virus, are now able to join the military and fully deploy on operations
- 2022: Veterans review
- 2022: The Tories issue second tranche of pardons to all LGBT+ people who were convicted or cautioned under old laws for consensual same-sex activity
- 2022: The Tories roll out opt-out testing in English A&Es
- 2022: The Tories have the first ever Trans MP in the United Kingdom
- 2022: Mpox vaccines and world leading reduction in Mpox
- 2023: Removing barriers to IVF for lesbian couples
- 2023: The Tories expand out opt-out testing in English A&Es - the biggest state provision of HIV Opt Out testing in Europe and North America
- 2023: The Tories issue third tranche of pardons to all LGBT+ people who were convicted or cautioned under old laws for consensual same-sex activity
- 2024: Barriers to HIV removed for IVF applications
Notes about the LGBT+ Conservatives
- We trace our roots back to 1975, when Professor Peter Walter Campbell, a celebrated lecturer in British and French politics, founded ‘GayCon’, or the Conservative Group for Homosexual Equality (CGHE).
- He was doubly courageous in being both an openly gay man in his life, but also in the sometimes-hostile Conservative Party.
- GayCon, fresh off the heels of the recent decriminalisation of homosexuality, tried to provide a much-needed centre right perspective in the Gay Rights movements of the 70s before restructuring and formally establishing itself in 1980.
- By 1981, the constitution was recognised, and the first elected committee took post.
- Throughout the 1980s, the group played a pivotal role in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic and in advancing legislation to protect LGBT+ people. It was also a strong private voice when needed as well, using the levers of internal government and strong personal relationships with those in positions of influence to fight back on where the Party was in the wrong.
- In 1991, it reconstituted itself and renamed itself the Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality, or, TORCHE, and was instrumental in key debates of the time – including the Age of Consent in 1994 – using a network of supporters on the Tory benches such as Edwina Currie who remains a friend to this organisation to this day.
- The organisation disbanded in 2004 and was refounded 2 years later as LGBTory before changing its name to LGBT+ Conservatives in 2016.
- In 2016, LGBT+ Conservatives’ Executive represented the organisation at the then-Prime Minister Theresa May's LGBT Downing Street garden reception.
- In 2021, Carrie Johnson spoke at our yearly Pride Reception - in a rare public intervention. Mrs Johnson's speech was widely reported in both UK and international press.
- This was the first intervention at a party conference by the spouse of a Prime Minister since Gordon Brown's wife Sarah Brown spoke at the Labour party conference. This was the Conservative Party’s conferences most talked about event - and showed just how pivotal we are within the Party family.
- Later that year, we worked to secure the world’s largest state-funded role out of opt-out testing for HIV in English A&Es, a landmark move for ending HIV. Hailed as ‘revolutionary’ by HIV and AIDS campaigners, it reaffirmed the party’s commitment to ending all new cases of HIV by 2030.
- In 2023, the group celebrated ten years since the passing of the Conservative Party's Same-Sex Marriage Act, by hosting a drinks reception with former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron who has cited it several times as one of his proudest achievements in office.
- In 2023, the group partnered with a UK media company, Tiny White Fox, to develop a new weekly podcast on LGBT+ current affairs called Never Kissed A Tory. The podcast also hosts Conservative MPs, AMs and Peers, including Emma Best AM, Andrew Boff AM, Maria Caulfield MP, Susan Hall AM and Alicia Kearns MP.
- The LGBT+ Conservatives were invited to a Summer Pride Reception with Lord Cameron, to celebrate the passage of the bill in Downing Street.
- In December 2023, the group hosted its first ever reception inside 10 Downing Street in which the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended and met with its members.
- In the reception, the organisation celebrated the success of its joint campaign with the Terrence Higgins Trust to expand HIV Opt-Out testing in English A&Es, which was announced the previous month by the Conservative Health Secretary Victoria Atkins at a parliamentary reception with Sir Elton John.
