Belfast Pride has announced that the political parties that make up the Northern Ireland executive will be prevented from marching in the parade over their support for the ban on puberty blockers. The move comes after some community members criticised Belfast Pride for launching a survey to assess the situation instead of outright banning the parties in the first place.

Last December, the four parties in the Stormont executive – Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Alliance and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) – voted to introduce an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for under-18s. The ban had provisionally been in effect in Northern Ireland since August 27, 2024.

Following the vote, other Pride organisations in the North – including Foyle Pride, Causeway Pride and Mid and East Antrim Pride – announced that the political parties would not be allowed to march in their parades.

Belfast Pride faced criticism for launching a survey to “gather opinions” on whether it should prevent the Stormont executive political parties from attending its festival, with some people stating that the move showed a lack of support for the trans community and that the issue shouldn’t be “up for debate”.

“You don’t need a survey to determine that people and parties who oppose trans healthcare should not be given a platform at Pride. It’s an insult to the trans community, who are already facing relentless attacks, to suggest that their rights and dignity are a topic for debate,” one person commented.

In a statement released on Friday, March 21, Belfast Pride announced that, following the community consultation, it would not accept applications from the executive parties to march in the parade.

 

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“Belfast Pride is deeply concerned about the impact this decision has had, and will have, on trans young people,” the statement read. Organisers added that responses to the consultation highlighted the “anger and frustration expressed at the decision to ban puberty blockers in Northern Ireland”.

“For at least a decade concerns about the failures in trans healthcare have been expressed to political panels at Belfast Pride and by our partners in the LGBTQIA+ sector,” the organisation stated. “Despite this, no meaningful action to improve these services has been undertaken or plan developed – other than to remove one of the limited services available.”

“We are living in unprecedented times where our hard-won rights are once again under threat,” the statement continued. “We call on all political parties to take meaningful action to address the inequalities still experienced by our community.”

The Stormont executive parties expressed disappointment at the decision, with a spokesperson from Sinn Féin saying they were “frustrated and personally gutted”. A representative of DUP noted that they believe Belfast Pride organisers will “regret” the decision.