On the 16th of February Toby Perkins MP visited the Chesterfield museum for their very first LGBTQ+ exhibition called “Other Stories”, which gave people the chance to see the story the of the LGBTQ+ community in chesterfield.

The exhibition which was opened on the 2nd Feb 2018 and will remain open until the 7th Apr 2018 explores the personal stories and social history of the LGBT+ community in Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire.

The experiences of North East Derbyshire LGBT+ community reveal devastating cases of discrimination and prejudice but also examples of self-determination, resilience and creativity. 50 years on from the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, the exhibition offers a reflection on the significant advances that have been made and recognises that there is still work to be done for full equality. The exhibit also showed the views of those in the LGBTQ+ community in the present day, with reference to legislative and public attitude changes.

On his visit Mr Perkins said “It was a pleasure to be invited as one of the first people to experience this exhibition. Throughout my time as the Member of Parliament for Chesterfield I have always championed LGBTQ+ rights and ‘Other Stories’ is a reflection on how the people of Chesterfield have been vocal in their support for a community that have previously been marginalised. It also shows the sacrifices and injustices done to many members of the LGBTQ+ community and it is important that we remember that intolerance”