Kira Herdman

I would like to point out before I start that I am a member of the Green Party. All views in this post are my own and not of the Green Party.

In a few weeks of posting this post the local elections are going to take place in the UK, along with the Scottish elections and elections for the Welsh Senedd. This matters for the LGBT+ community more than you would think for 2 reasons.

1. A lot of people are saying that this election is a vote of confidence in the prime minister, Sir Kier Starmer.
2. Reform are pushing hard for an election win, as they are currently dropping in the polls. A recent poll puts them in joint top first place with the Green Party and the Labour Party.

Let’s break down some policies/stances that I know about. I have covered 6 main policies/stances I think are important for all 3 parties and I have added some other important policies/stances I think are relevant.

Reform Party.

The Reform Party, run by Nigel Farage, has replaced the Conservative Party on the right of UK politics. This is not surprising as most of the current MP’s for this party that are currently in Westminster are from the Conservatives, the previous dominant right wing party in the UK.

1. Iran War. At first Nigel Farage supported the war in Iran. After the outrage that the general public in the UK showed against the war he changed his tune quite quickly.
2. Council tax. They have stated they want to cut council tax for all councils in the UK.
3. LGBT+ Rights. On a national level they want to also scrap the Equality Act 2010, stripping all the protections the LGBT community in the UK currently enjoy. They also want to scrap Gay Marriage.
4. The EU. Reform wants to keep the UK out of the EU and more align with the US.
5. Immigrants They want to stop all immigrants from countries who want compensation for the slavery trade that they suffered under the British Empire.
6. Scrap DEI. They want to scrap all DEI initiative’s in local government as well as national government, stating they are a waste of tax payers money.
7. Create local DOGE departments. They want to create local DOGE departments for all local councils to cut waste.
8. Tax Childless Women. Again on a national level they want to tax women who do not have any children.

As well as all the above, their current record in local government is not exactly stellar. They have, as of October 2025, lost 36 councillors from the May 2025 local elections, or 5% of the total number (677), of councillors that they had elected.

They have also tried to create a DOGE department in a council that is very near to me, Lancashire. They did not find any waste to cut; in fact, the council tax there is going up by 3.99% this year. Speaking of council tax, EVERY local council they currently control, which is 10, is raising council tax this year.

Having checked the Facebook accounts of the local Reform candidates, and I have seen a lot of transphobia, homophobia, and general hate towards anything they class as un-British.

Labour Party.

The Labour Party, which is currently in government here in the UK as well as controlling a vast majority of local councils, has the most to lose in these local elections. Sir Kier Starmer has also moved the party from centre-left to centre/centre-right of politics in the UK.

The party in power usually doesn’t do well in local elections.

1. Iran War. The government let the US use British bases here in the UK and in the Indian Ocean for bombing in Iran for defensive actions only.
2. Council Tax. In the councils Labour control, the council tax is going up like every other council in the UK.
3. LGBT+ Rights. Under Labour LGBT+ rights have fallen backwards again. They stopped puberty blockers for transgender kids and are having a consultation for about transgender adults getting HRT via private care. They have also yet to bring in a ban on conversion therapy, which they promised in their manifesto.
4. The EU. Labour are pushing for a middle ground on the EU. They don’t want to re-join the EU or the common market, as it is against the manifesto they were elected on, but want close ties with the EU.
5. Immigrants. Labour are trying to limit the amount of immigrants entering the UK.
6. 2 Child Benefit Cap. They have recently scrapped the 2 child benefit cap, which is a good thing as it will lift a lot of children out of poverty.
7. Drilling in the North Sea. Labour has not revoked any drilling licences for the North Sea as of writing this blog post, and there has been movement in allowing more drilling on existing sites.

For me personally there are 3 main things I don’t like about the current Labour Government.

1. They have not implemented changes regarding LGBT+ rights as set out in their manifesto; in fact, they have gone backwards.
2. They have also said they don’t want to join the EU, even though it is costing £90 billion a year in lost tax revenue, which would go a long way into easing the current cost of living crisis that we have been in since the Covid-19 pandemic.
3. I think we should have followed France and Spain and not allow any US aircraft that was involved in the Iran war the use of our airspace or bases.

Green Party.

Since Zack Polanski became leader in September 2025 the Greens have had a massive surge in membership and popularity. The current membership is over 215,000, the second largest party in the UK in terms of membership.

Although the Green’s was set up initially as an environmental party, they have since grown to cover more than just environmental issues.

The Green are the main left leaning party in UK politics.

1. Iran War. The policy of the Green Party is we should not be involved at all in the Iran war. In fact, Zack recently posted we should not have any US bombers in the UK.
2. Council Tax. In the councils Green control, the council tax is going up like every other council in the UK.
3. Drilling in the North Sea. The Greens want to stop, over time, the drilling of oil in the North Sea in favour of renewable energy.
4. LGBT+ Rights. The party is a very inclusive party and has strong support for the LGBT+ community here in the UK.
5. The EU. The Green’s want to hold another referendum on rejoining the EU.
6. Immigrants. The policy of the Green Party is broadly welcoming and humanitarian regarding immigration. The party has been clear that refugees are welcome here.

The Green Party recently won an parliamentary by-election on the message of hope, not division.

Zach Polanski recently attended the New Economics Foundation conference and set out the policies the Green Party has for the finances of the country. One of the main things to come out of that conference is that the Greens would ditch the GDP targets and focus on the wellbeing of the population instead, which I think is a very good policy. They also want to tax the millionaires and billionaires more fairly and rejoin the EU.

The party is very supportive of LGBT+ and minority right’s, as well as what I think is the correct policy on immigration.

Conclusion

I would like to point out again I am a member of the Green Party and the following are my personal views and not that of the Green Party.

I think the Reform Party is just MAGA for the UK. They spread hate, promise the world during elections, and then when they get into power, they don’t keep any of the promises they said during those elections.

Labour, to me, are a big disappointment. I was a member of the Labour Party during the last general election as I thought Sir Keir Starmer was serious when he went on about change. The fact that he has tried to appease the US President, Donald Trump, as well as break promises on LGBT+ issues was a VERY big disappointment to me. I will give him some credit though that since the Iran war started, he has pivoted away from the US towards the EU.

I joined the Green Party in November 2025 and have been very happy with the policies of the party. While I don’t agree with all the policies of the Green Party, I am supportive of the vast majority of them. They are the only party that wants to help the working class with the cost of living crisis, tax the rich fairly, are fully supportive of the LGBT+ community in the UK, and are fully aligned with my views when it comes to the Iran War and immigration.

To me politics is about give and take. And out of the 3 main parties in the UK the Greens are by far the best party that aligns with my views not just here in the UK but also on the world stage.