LGBTQ+ inclusion doesn’t just benefit certain Brits – it helps all of us

In recent months, we’ve seen a number of high-profile figures talk about concepts like ‘diversity’, ‘equality’ and ‘inclusion’ as though they’re things to fear or resent.

To most people, this feels odd on surface level alone. How can including others or treating one another equally cause harm? Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

In fact, beyond what could be perceived as just a scapegoating distraction from the real issues facing us out in the world, inclusion presents an opportunity to all of us. Not just as individuals who can learn and grow from one another, but for Britain as a whole to better prosper as a society.

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Our data demonstrates a link between societies that are more LGBTQ+ inclusive and societies that experience better economic competitiveness. Inclusion makes for financial stability. And this can happen in different ways.

How inclusive a country is perceived can attract and generate income from a range of sources. For example, tourism, the ability to attract and retain the best workforce talent, eligibility for foreign investment or development assistance, or “brain drain”, where top talent leaves the country for somewhere that feels like a safer place to be.

Britain’s perception as a safe haven for LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones has taken a drastic downturn in recent times. We’ve seen recent cases of trans people applying for asylum in other parts of the world, as the UK no longer feels safe. Numerous high-profile instances of violent hate crimes against gay people in the streets or on public transport. The abusive practice of “conversion therapy” remains legal in this country. 

This increase in reported hate crimes, and anti-trans rhetoric in particular, is largely why UK cities have fallen in Open for Business’ latest City Ratings report. The ratings comprise two categories: economic competitiveness and LGBTQ+ inclusion, and all UK cities included in the report have scored lower in 2025 than in 2022, predominantly due to the LGBTQ+ inclusion metrics. This year, for the first time since the report began, London has been downgraded from the top grade of ‘AAA’, as has Dublin.

And this isn’t the first time the UK has dropped in data-driven lists that assess inclusion of LGBTQ+ people or other groups. In 2015 we topped the ILGA Rainbow Map, which presents information on LGBTI rights in Europe, and today are 14 places lower at number 15.

The perception of the UK as an inclusive and welcoming place is crucial to our ability to maintain financial stability, something that benefits all of us. For example, during the anti-immigration protests and riots, countries that advised its citizens against visiting the UK included: Malaysia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sweden, Indonesia, the UAE, Australia, India and Hong Kong. This marked a hugely significant shift in how the world viewed a country that so often praises itself for how it embraces diversity in all its forms.

In fact, we’re already hearing that LGBTQ+ groups in other parts of the world are advising people to be cautious if choosing to travel to the UK.

Divisive and fear-mongering rhetoric has led the UK into an anxious and unsafe state of mind, and it’s vital that efforts are made to take as much heat out of this as possible. Not just to preserve our financial stability as a nation, but to build back a reputation and reality as a place where all of us feel safe, supported and able to thrive without compromising who we are.

Dominic Arnall is CEO at Open for Business, a coalition of global companies advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.

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