history Archives - Antony Simpson is an Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.

History: Lesbians & Gays Support The Miners (LGSM)

Saturday 3 October 2026 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Miners Strike

In the UK, in the 1980s (1984 to 1985 to be precise) Miners went on a strike that would last for a whole year, organised by National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The Union was opposed the announcement of plans to close 20 pits/mines, starting with Cortonwood Colliery in South Yorkshire. The Union predicted that these 20 pits/mines closures would just be the start. Union Leaders suspected that there were plans to close up to 75 pits/mines and that this could lead to more than 20,000 people loosing their jobs.

Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government were in political control at the time of the strike. The Government felt that the Union had too much power and that the industry needed to become economically more efficient. Thatcher and her Government felt it was their duty to dilute the power of the Union and that efficiency could only be achieved through privatisation.

It wasn’t just the coal mining industry Thatcher and her Government wanted to dilute union powers and implement privatisation in. There were others too. Thatcher and her Government used the Police as their state enforcement arm, using the Police to aggressively reduce picketing, crush civil disobedience and to protect workers willing to work during the strike. This did an unimaginable damage to the relationship and trust between mining communities and the Police.

The Lesbians & Gay Men Support The Miners (LGSM) Groups

Two Activists, Mark Ashton and Mike Jackson, attended a talk by a striking miner and were inspired to set up the first LGSM group. Both Mark and Mike realised that the LGB community and mining community had a lot in common.

Both the LGB and mining communities were being vilified by the press, mistreated by the Government and Police, facing regular stigma and discrimination and were fighting for their communities. It made sense for both communities to support the other.

Mark and Mike started by collecting donations for the miners at London Pride. It should be noted, that in the 1980s, Pride events where not like they are today. They would be better described as Activist rallies, sometimes with a protest march. The community would come together and listen to speakers. Speakers would inspire and give hope – that things will get better for LGB people. Mark and Mike gave the money they raised to people in the mining community, helping them to survive with the very basics, such as food, housing and clothing.

Over time, the LGSM grew, with more LGB activists participating and higher amounts of donations being received. Both meant that the LGSM was able to support more miners and their families. The LGSM started in London, but soon, a further 10 LGSM groups were set up across the UK, by lesbians and gay men to support striking miners.

The Political Landscape

LGB people and striking miners may not seem like natural political allies. Even though, as I have written above, they had a lot of the same challenges (bad press, mistreatment by Government/Police and stigma/discrimination).

The are some reports that at the time many of the LGB community identified themselves as socialists, left wing or of similar views. This political leaning is not surprising really, given the daily challenges LGB people faced in the 1980s.

If you think about it, supporting the miners and their families would sit well and comfortably with LGB people’s believes and values.

What Happened Next?

The LGSM groups gave support and resources to the miners and their families freely and without any conditions or expectation of reciprocation. What happened next between the two communities was wonderful.

Members of the two communities got to know one another and develop meaningful connections. Prejudice and homophobia lessened. Lesbians and gay men gradually became not just tolerated, but accepted, fully, for who they are including their romantic and sexual attractions. For whom they love.

It is likely that societal attitude changes towards LGB people would have happened with or without LGB people supporting the miners. But supporting the miners likely massively increased the speed of this societal and cultural change in some parts of the Uk.

Why Is Knowing This History Important?

This history can remind us of the need to help one another, to be active within our communities and to reach beyond our communities for allies.

If we think about LGB people’s rights, we have only gained these due to having many straight allies. Rights including:

References

The Rainbow Pride Flag: Who designed it? What do the different colours symbolise? And how has the design evolved over time?

Saturday 8 August 2026 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 6 minutes

I remember the first time I saw the Rainbow Pride Flag (image left). I was a young gay man and it was at a local LGBT youth project I attended. I had recently come out to some close family and friends.

As I got a little older, I began to go to the gay pubs/clubs in my local city, meeting other Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) people. The Rainbow Pride Flag was prominently displayed on both the outside and inside of every gay pub/club/business there. In these settings, I felt safe. I felt free to be my whole self, with no fears about how other people might react. I felt I was with my tribe. With people that were the same as me.

Ordinarily, in the outside world, I would monitor my voice and behaviour closely. I’d be hypervigilant for danger, always noticing the people around me, the environment and constantly scanning for the subtle signs that I might be in danger. Often, I considered multiple exit routes and what I might say to someone if they became verbally or physically abusive towards me. I’d also consider who, out of the strangers around, might help me, if I needed it.

My fear was very real. I’ve had experiences in the past where the risk of harm from strangers, just because of my sexuality, was very real. These experiences, along with hearing experiences from others, made me very cautious. I felt that hiding my sexuality, rather than it being noticeable, kept me safer. This fear for my safety even influenced what I chose to wear and how I styled my hair.

Being gay has always been part of who I am. But sadly, not all people like or accept gay people.

The Rainbow Pride Flag quickly became a symbol to me that represented: safety and that I was free to be my full true authentic self. I knew that I could breathe, relax and enjoy myself in any setting that had the flag on display. I never took that for granted. When I was leaving these settings, I knew was going back into a potentially hostile world.

I recently realised that I knew practically nothing about the Rainbow Pride Flag. I have displayed it, using its symbolism to hopefully make others feel safe and welcome. So I made the decision to do some research and learn more about the flag. In this post, I share with you what I learned:

1. Who designed The Rainbow Pride Flag?

The Rainbow Pride Flag was designed by Gilbert Baker, Lynn Segerblom, James McNamara and other gay rights activists in San Francisco, USA. Gilbert Baker was friends with and influenced by Harvey Milk, a very famous gay civil rights activist.

The Rainbow Pride Flag first appeared in 1978 at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade and was quickly adopted as a symbol for and by the LGBT community. The original flag had 8 colours, including hot pink, like below:

Some people have suggested that Baker and the other designers used the rainbow colours due Judy Garland. Judy Garland played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz film and sung the song ‘Over The Rainbow.’ She later became somewhat of an icon in the gay community. Some in the LGB community would ask others: Are you a friend of Dorothy? This was a coded message, disclosing their sexuality and asking if they were also in the community.

However, Baker, in an interview in 1985 denied any association with Judy Garland, Dorothy or The Wizard of Oz. He reported that designers chose rainbow colours “because of its associations with the hippie movement of the Sixties.” Baker also noted that the use of this design dated all the way back to ancient Egypt.

The Rainbow Pride Flag was designed to be a symbol of the gay civil rights movement that was taking place in the USA at the time. The design has evolved over time, as has what the flag means to the LGBT community, allies and the general population. It is an extremely powerful symbol for the LGBT community.

It could be argued that the Rainbow Pride Flag has become much, much more than the original designers expected or could even have imagined.

2. What do the different colours on the flag symbolise?

Overall the flag was a symbol (and in some areas remains one) around equal civil rights and protections for LGBT people. The genius behind the deign of The Rainbow Pride Flag is that different individuals or community can attribute their own meaning to it. For example, as an individual to me it symbolises safety and being free to be my authentic self, as explained in my story above.

It is reported that each colour on the original 1978 Rainbow Pride flag symbolised something specific. The colours on the flag and are what they are reported to symbolise is well reported on the internet. The colours on the original 1978 flag are said to symbolise:

During my research, I could find no credible reference to confirm or deny that the designers had specific symbols in mind for the specific colours that make up the flag.

It could be that they did, equally that they did not. It could be that these symbols were created or decided on at a later date, by the designers or practically anyone else and at some point, they just started getting reported as fact. We just don’t know for sure and likely never will.

3. How has the design of The Rainbow Pride Flag evolved over time?

The first design change of The Rainbow Pride Flag occurred towards the end of 1978. Harvey Milk was assassinated and this led to a massive increase in demand for the Rainbow Pride Flag.

The customers were likely LGBT people who wanted to support the gay civil rights movement, knowing that they already faced discrimination, harassment and sometimes physical assault. Harvey Milk’s murder likely made people think that this could happen to anyone of them and that they need to be politically active for rights and protections.

Some sales of the flag may have also come from allies, people who identify as hetrosexual (straight), but agreed that LGBT people should have the same rights and protections as everyone else.

In November 1978, due to the increased demand, the manufacturer was struggling to get hold of enough hot pink material to make the flags and complete orders. So Baker, tweaked the design, removing the hot pink colour.

Some time in 1979, Baker decided to remove Turquoise as he needed an even number of colours (6 rather than 7) as part of his pride parade plans to places two colours on each lampost repeatedly along the parade route.

Baker then adjusted the design of the Rainbow Pride Flag in 2017, making it a nine stripped flag. The turquoise stripe was back, along with a lavender stripe. Baker is said to have added the lavender stripe to symbolise diversity and reportedly did so due to the election of a certain orange President the year before.

There have also been a large number of organisations across the world that have adapted Baker’s designs, adding to or changing the design slightly. There are too many variations to list them all here and I would no doubt miss some out. So I have only included details of the original Rainbow Pride Flag’s evolution here.

4. A Powerful Symbol

Over time, The Rainbow Pride Flag has become an extremely powerful symbol for LGBT people in a number of places in the world. It has helped the community to be acknowledged, listened to and in many places respected. Although this hasn’t happened everywhere.

Today, many public institutions, private companies and charities recognise Pride Month in June and actively promote celebration of their customers/staff/others who are part of the LGBT community.

In some places attitudes towards LGBT people have improved and we have definitely gotten more legal rights/protections in many places. But there is still more work to be done. Both from a civil rights persepctive and to help others to understand some of the challenges and difficulties experienced by LGBT people.

5. Other Content You Might Like

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Write soon,

Antony

Is the Social Contract in the UK Broken?

Friday 19 June 2026 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 5 minutes

A social contract is an implied agreement between The Government / Members of Parliament (MPs) / Institutions and The People. Both sides of the agreement have rights, responsibilities and expectations. But is the social contract in the UK broken?

To answer this question, we need to discuss the expectations of each of the group’s people:

The People are Expected to:

Work and/or contribute to society in other ways.
Pay taxes.
Abide by the law.
To be treated with dignity, fairness, equality & respect.
To treat others with dignity, fairness, equality & respect.
To exercise their rights to vote, petition and protest, if they choose to do so.

The Government / MPs / Institutions are Expected to:

To keep citizens (The People) safe – usually achieved through the Military and the Police.
To ensure all of The People have access to shelter (housing), food, water and appropriate clothing. To ensure that these basic survival needs are affordable.
To ensure of of The People have access to the NHS, safe and high quality healthcare. This ensures that the majority of the population are in good health.
To ensure that children / young people and vulnerable adults have access to Social Care services that keep them safe and support them.
To ensure all of The People have opportunities to learn through education establishments, libraries and apprenticeships. This develops a knowledgeable and skilled workforce for all of society.
To be financially responsible, ensuring the economy grows and benefits all. This includes ensuring employment opportunities for working-age people, ensuring pension schemes for the elderly and Welfare (benefit payments for: people on low wages, unemployed people, people who need extra support due illness or disability, support for families with children and support towards the cost of housing).
To develop, support, maintain and ensure accessibility for all of The People to key infrastructure such as water sanitation, waste disposal/recycling, energy/power systems, roads/public transportation and telephone / communication systems.
To create new laws for the good of The People.
To ensure that there is a system for individual people that brake laws, which includes both justice / consequences and rehabilitation. In the UK, this is through the Police, the Courts, Prisons and Probation services.
To ensure that all institutions adhere to Human Rights, are accessible and don’t discriminate or harass any of The People.
In Parliament, to represent and act in the best interests of both The People in the communities that elected them and the larger UK society.
To promote good diplomatic relationships globally and to advocate for / encourage peace.

I understand that the The Government / MPs / Institutions have a large number of complex expectations to meet. However, in the last few decades, it feels like on every single one of these expectations The Government / MPs / Institutions are failing to deliver. Not only are they failing to meet expectations right now, but it also appears that they are setting society up for further failures in the future.

In the last few decades, The Government / MPs / Intuitions have appeared to work for a select group of people within The People: the wealthy elite (see rising wealth inequality).

My opinion is that everything is broken. The social contract is broken, politics is broken, all public services are broken. It feels likes society in the UK is disintegrating right in front of my eyes.

This week Andy Burnham won the by-election in Ashton-In-Makerfield, Wigan. At one time, this would of given me hope. Andy Burnham is an experienced politician and to give credit where it is due, he was the Health Minister when I started my career as a Student Nurse.

Back in 2004 – The Labour Party’s bursey for Nurses scheme enabled me to go to University to become a Nurse. I was the first person in my family to go to University. The policy documents, ideas and follow through actions whilst Andy Burnham was Health Minister were good.

One basic but excellent idea I remember for the NHS, is calculating how many Nurses the NHS would need in the next 3 years. They then doubled the number of training places to ensuring we had enough Nurses qualifying at the right time.

I do have reasons not to hope for too much, or put my complete faith and trust in Andy Burnham as a Prime Minister though.

Before I list these, I want to say that what I’ve heard so far from Andy Burnham seems promising. Bringing back public transport, utilities and energy into Government ownership would not only go along way to addressing the cost of living crisis, but would also ensure the Government’s wealth security for future generations.

My reasons for not putting too much hope, faith or trust in Andy Burnham include:

Josh Simons was the former MP for Ashton-In-Makerfield in Wigan. Josh appeared to well respected and liked locally, but suddenly gave up his seat to make way for Andy Burnham. This makes it feel like political game playing and acting in self-interest, rather than in the interests of The People. I am almost expecting that Josh Simons will get a peerage to the unelected House of Lords. Not because he earned it, not because The People will benefit, but because Andy Burnham promised him, in return for giving up his elected seat.
It is rumoured that the proposed Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was Andy Burnham’s idea when he was Mayor of Greater Manchester. I should make clear that Andy Burnham now denies this, stating that it was the previous Conservative Government’s idea. But this doesn’t ring true for me. Before the CAZ, there was a proposal for a Congestion Charge for Greater Manchester. This would have reduced traffic, as only people with the money could afford to drive into the city centre. However the majority of The People in Greater Manchester voted to reject the idea of a congestion charge. The CAZ to me feels like another way Andy Burnham tried to implement this idea. It also doesn’t feel right that The Conservative Party would bring in a charge for motorists for ‘clean air’ or that they would want it to cover the whole of Greater Manchester.
Another rumour relating to the proposed CAZ was that either a company that Andy Burnham’s wife owns or works for got paid £100m for all of the signage. I have never read anywhere that Andy Burnham has acknowledged this rumour or responded to it. Sometimes, silence from politicians makes me feel that they are covering their back, not saying anything to avoid incriminating themselves. If Andy Burnham was involved, influenced or was even aware of his wife’s involvement, this feels like a very real conflict of interests. What was done about this? We don’t know, because the rumour hasn’t been acknowledged, confirmed or denied.
If the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which the perception is that Andy Burnham was the leader of, did pay £100m for signage, that’s feels like a lot of tax payer’s money that has been wasted for a scheme that never materialised.
Even if Andy Burnham has all the best of intentions and only wants to serve The People, there is a chaotic Labour Party and a whole political system set up that seems pretty happy with the status quo. Can Andy Burnham have the influence, charisma, ideas, motivation and energy to make the transformational change required?

I have never wanted for any one to prove my concerns about them wrong as I do about Andy Burnham right now. I want the social contract back. I want a fair and good society.

If you look at the collapse of every empire in history, they all have one thing in common. They happened (at least in part) because their ruling class (those with power) stopped serving The People and started serving either themselves, the wealthy elite or both.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

Write soon,

Antony

The Recent (2000-2017) History of Gay Marriage Across the World

Tuesday 12 December 2017 / Antony Simpson / 2 Comments

Reading Time: < 1 minute

I’ve recently come across this great informational video that tells you all about the recent History of Gay Marriage (covering the years 2000 to 2017). Thought you might enjoy:

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I will write a more substantial blog post soon. Promise.

If you liked this post, you might like my All Love, Relationships & Gay Community Content page.

Take care,

Antony

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history

The Miners Strike

The Lesbians & Gay Men Support The Miners (LGSM) Groups

The Political Landscape

What Happened Next?

Why Is Knowing This History Important?

References

Other Content

1. Who designed The Rainbow Pride Flag?

2. What do the different colours on the flag symbolise?

3. How has the design of The Rainbow Pride Flag evolved over time?

4. A Powerful Symbol

5. Other Content You Might Like

More Content From Antony

The People are Expected to:

The Government / MPs / Institutions are Expected to:

More Content From Antony