Hundreds of lesbian and gay union activists are expected to join the London Pride march.

The march will end at a rally in Trafalgar Square where TUC general secretary Brendan Barber will speak out urging them to challenge homophobia in schools and to join campaigns to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual (LGBT) rights overseas.

The rally is the culmination of a two-day conference where Yvette Cooper, the shadow minister for women and equalities and Maria Exall, chair of the TUC’s LGBT committee demonstrated their support for lesbian and gay rights alongside other keynote speakers like Eileen Barnard-Harris from the Cutting Edge Consortium, Marcus Morgan from the Bisexual Index and Phyllis Opoku-Gyimah from UK Black Pride.

TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady opened the conference with a plea to the LGBT community to join protests against public spending cuts.

“It’s just over a year since the government came to power, and now is a good time to conduct an audit of its record on LGBT equality,” said O’Grady.

“I think the first thing to recognise is it’s not all bad. The government has said it is committed to maintaining LGBT equality, and to retaining last year’s Equality Act.

“Since then ministers have committed to challenging homophobia in sport, tackling homophobic school bullying and to stopping the deportation of LGBT asylum seekers to countries where they face persecution.

“Its policy of deep and rapid cuts to public spending is putting LGBT equality at grave risk. Cuts are felt the most in local authority funding for the voluntary sector, and many of the organisations that tackle discrimination against our LGBT communities are suffering grievously as LGBT services are no longer seen as a priority.”

O’Grady explained to the delegates that government spending cuts were eroding budgets that financed services for the LGBT community – like NHS trusts cancelling gender reassignment work because finances did not extend to non-essential surgery.

‘I want LGBT people to be at the heart of our progressive coalition against the cuts. A rainbow alliance against austerity. When it comes to fighting these cuts, be in no doubt that black and white, young and old, men and women, gay and straight, and of course bi and trans, we’re all in it together,” said O’Grady

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