Mick Hartley

Well, this is how it goes with a serial agent of disruption like Trump. Occasionally – gender stuff – he gets it right. So here we go with Stonewall and all their ridiculous Diversity Champions schemes:

Stonewall could be forced to cut up to half of its staff after President Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid, The Times understands.

Workers at the LGBTQ+ charity were told on Thursday that restructuring would take place, and that only roles with dedicated funding would be safe.

Simon Blake, the chief executive of Stonewall, made the announcement in an office-wide Teams call, which was said to have left its 114 staff “shellshocked”.

Sources said they believed up to half of the workforce could be made redundant in the move, which they were told would “secure the future of Stonewall for the long term as a significant LGBTQ+ organisation able to deliver impactful campaigns and legislative change across the UK and further afield”.

Insiders believed the announcement was linked to decisions made by Trump over the provision of foreign aid. Blake has previously warned of the impact Trump’s move would have on Stonewall’s operations.

And here's us thinking it was only the nasty enemies of "progressive" politics who relied on US funding.

Funding from the US came to Stonewall through the Global Equality Fund (GEF), administered by the US state department, which has given the charity more than half a million pounds in the past three years. The GEF focuses on “advancing LGBTI rights around the world” and is a pooled fund with contributions from numerous countries and private businesses, but it has not published accounts since 2015.

In recent years the GEF has been Stonewall’s largest funder. Charity accounts show the GEF increased its funding for Stonewall year on year, handing over £137,254 in 2021-22, rising to £204,442 in 2022-23 and reaching £233,583 in the most recent set of accounts.

The slippery slope just got slippier. They jumped on the trans bandwagon after the gay rights battles were won, to keep the money flowing in, and now they're paying the price. The T has no place alongside the LGB.

Added: see Dennis Noel Kavanagh's thread reader.