The LGB Alliance was set up in 2019 when it became clear that groups like Stonewall had been taken over by the T in LGBT, and that the trans movement, far from being the next step in the gay liberation process, was in fact deeply homophobic and misogynist - a regressive throwback to old gender stereotypes dressed up in progressive trans-friendly clothing. The clearest example, perhaps, was the ridiculous "cotton ceiling" business, where heterosexual men who declared themselves women and therefore lesbians professed to be outraged that genuine lesbians wouldn't sleep with them.
Naturally the Alliance has been the target of all "right-thinking" progressives ever since. Including the Arts Council:
A senior figure at Britain’s biggest arts quango branded a gay and lesbian charity as “divisive” and “anti-trans” days before funding was withdrawn, The Telegraph can disclose.
The charity had been awarded a £9,000 Arts Council grant to make a film for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee but the grant was withdrawn after an outcry over claims of transphobia.
Separately, Arts Council England staff also posted comments about LGB Alliance, claiming it was “a cultural parasite and glorified hate group” that had “neo-Nazi” supporters.
At a meeting of 400 Arts Council staff, Simon Mellor, deputy chief executive, said: “LGB Alliance is a divisive organisation with a history of anti-trans exclusionary activity” and that it was “a mistake” to have made the funding award.
The grant was given by the Arts Council to a second body, London Community Foundation, which then made the grant to LGB Alliance. The funding offer was withdrawn by the London Community Foundation on April 19, five days after the Arts Council’s virtual meeting, although it is not known if the two are connected.
The quango, which is funded through the taxpayer and the National Lottery, insists it was not involved in the decision but critics have accused the arts body of making political judgments and ignoring the artistic merits of the project.
In a subsequent petition circulated by Arts Council staff, one member of the organisation described LGB Alliance as “a cultural parasite and a glorified hate group that has fans and supporters that also happen to be neo-Nazis, homophobes and islamophobes”. Staff claimed LGB Alliance was a “hate group”, while another unofficial post likened it to the Ku Klux Klan.
Somehow these absurd claims, coming from leading figures in the arts world bureaucracy, fail to surprise. But really...neo-Nazis?...like the Ku Klux Klan?...and islamophobes - what's that about?
Kate Barker, managing director of LGB Alliance, said: “Since our founding in 2019, LGB Alliance has faced a relentless smear campaign, including the bizarre accusation that we are transphobic and homophobic.
“We would expect any public organisation such as the Arts Council to engage with us before accepting as fact such baseless and provably false accusations. If the Arts Council wants to understand what LGB Alliance is all about and why the issues we fight for are so important, they can watch Very British Gays, our fantastic film about the progress of gay men’s rights during the reign of the late Queen – a film we funded through individual donations from those who support LGB people.” ...
In the summer, Darren Henley, Arts Council’s chief executive, denied at a Commons Select Committee that his staff were involved in the withdrawal of funding. Mr Henley will be further grilled by MPs this week, with Conservatives complaining that the body is wasting taxpayers’ money on political projects.
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