The sad news comes today that Maureen Colquhoun has passed away at the age of 92
BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS, IMAGE VIA TWITTER
Maureen Colquhoun, the first openly lesbian MP who revolutionised politics for the LGBTQI community, has sadly passed away today at the age of 92.
First elected into the House of Commons in 1974, Maureen Colquhoun was an economist, a leading voice for women’s rights and an LGBTQI trailblazer.
In 1976, news emerged that she was in a relationship with Barbara Todd, publisher of the lesbian magazine, Sappho. Colquhoun began her relationship with Barbara after leaving her husband, a Sunday Times journalist, and was later outed by the Daily Mail’s Nigel Dempster.
This made Maureen Colquhoun Britain’s first out lesbian MP – but the following year she was deselected, a result local party officials denied had anything to do with her sexuality.
After appeal she remained on as MP, until she lost her seat in the 1979 election. She continued to work in politics until 2015, and remained with Barbara Todd until February 2020, when Todd passed away.
Tributes have poured in online from those who followed in her footsteps, and we have selected some of those to honour Maureen Colquhoun following the sad news today.
Rest in power, Maureen Colquhoun.
From the “Love” chapter of Difficult Women: pic.twitter.com/LjQlb3Obb6
— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) February 2, 2021
Very sad news, I never met former Cllr Colquhoun, but was inspired by her, discovering her pivotal role in the representation of women & LGBT people in Parliament when researching Hackney and LGBT political history. She was the first openly Lesbian MP in Parliament. https://t.co/Knzrl5N7ID
— Mayor of Hackney (@mayorofhackney) February 2, 2021
Very sad news – Maureen was a feminist pioneer who paved the way for all of us who came after RIP https://t.co/N43AxC2sZl
— Angela Eagle DBE 💙 (@angelaeagle) February 2, 2021
What an amazing woman Maureen Colquhoun was. We became sort of penpals at the start of the pandemic. I made sure she knew I couldn’t have been me without her.
— Kezia Dugdale (@kezdugdale) February 2, 2021
A real unsung trailblazer ❤️🏳️🌈🙏🏼 https://t.co/zvc2Tm6BlI
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