'Queer heritage' blue plaque planted on House of Lords to honour lesbian protest

Activists planted unofficial “Queer Heritage” plaques on the House of Lords and other landmarks early on Wednesday.

Four women put up the blue plaque to commemorate lesbian activists who caused uproar by abseiling into the chamber in 1988 in a protest against Section 28 of the Local Government Act, which banned local authorities from “promoting homosexuality”.

Ariana Jordão, 33, of activists Sexual Avengers, attached the plaque to an external wall of the Lords.

She said: “We did this to celebrate collective acts of queer resistance. The House of Lords represents the powerful who ignore the interests of the few.”

The plaques are modelled on English Heritage’s, which mark the homes of notable people. Another was placed at Soho’s Admiral Duncan gay pub, where three people died in a neo-Nazi bombing in 1999.

Activist Dan Glass said London should do more to mark its queer history. “London is unique as a ‘gay-friendly’ city with no permanent LGBTQIA+ museum or cultural space,” he said.

The House of Lords said: “There was no security breach. They ran off and it was taken down.”

English Heritage said: “It is a mark of London’s diversity and rich history that there are many other memorial schemes.”