Three Candidates, One LGBTQ+ Future | Manchester News

Three Greater Manchester mayoral candidates turned up for an LGBTQ+ hustings—Bev Craig, Geraldine Coggins, and Richard Kilpatrick—while the rest vanished or ignored the invite. Uniting on housing, conversion therapy bans, and trans rights, they each shared personal Pride stories: Craig’s resilience from Belfast’s hostile parades to Manchester’s sanctuary; Coggins’ joyful San Francisco memories; Kilpatrick’s call to reclaim Pride’s roots. They also proposed bold solutions—Coggins’ £10 million community fund, Kilpatrick’s standardized Pride funding, and all three backing trans inclusion while tackling hate crime and online abuse. Craig, facing political pressure to “tone down” her identity, stood firm: gay women aren’t divided from trans people—and Manchester must lead on inclusion. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/87b3543bcee51943