Stonewall gets £2m in handouts from public purse

Stonewall received nearly £2m in grants from the taxpayer between September 2019 and March 2021, according to its most recent financial statement.

The controversial LGBT lobby group’s total income for the reporting period equalled £11.5m, meaning £1 in every £6 of Stonewall funding came from government grants.

The total amount paid by public bodies to Stonewall will be much higher, as fees for its discredited ‘Diversity Champions’ scheme and money paid for its ‘LGBT-friendly’ training are not detailed in its accounts.

Grants

By far the biggest grant maker to the lobby group was the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which gave £765,061 to Stonewall in the eighteen months up to March 2021.

The Welsh Government gave grants totalling £236,529, the Scottish Government £150,000, and NHS Scotland £47,380 to Stonewall for its ‘charitable activities’ during the same period.

Of the total £1,865,589 received from government departments, £742,403 was recorded in the group’s accounts as Coronavirus Support Funding.

Beleagured

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has become the latest Government department to leave Stonewall’s beleaguered ‘Diversity Champions’ scheme.

In recent months, organisations including the Crown Prosecution Service, Ofcom, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Department of Health (DoH) have deserted the ‘flagship’ programme.

Last year, BBC journalists Stephen Nolan and David Thompson revealed the widespread influence Stonewall has been able to exert on UK public institutions.