In recent months, the United States has witnessed a surge in efforts by far-right groups to challenge rights many assumed were settled, particularly those relating to LGBTQ equality. Central to this renewed campaign is the attempt to dismantle marriage equality – a right that was only enshrined nationwide in the US in 2015. While many in Britain may look across the Atlantic and dismiss such developments as uniquely American, the uncomfortable truth is that similar forces and strategies are at work within the United Kingdom. To believe that LGBTQ rights here are secure is to ignore the mounting evidence of regression.

The US Supreme Court is now considering whether to hear a case that seeks to overturn its landmark 2015 ruling on same-sex marriage. Even if the Court declines, the very fact that the issue is being reopened illustrates the determination of the religious right to wage long battles through the courts. This method – often described as “strategic litigation” – has been used to erode rights incrementally, case by case.

The petitioner in this instance is Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who made headlines in 2015 when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming that her religious beliefs forbade her from doing so. Her lawyer, Mat Staver, chairs Liberty Counsel, an organization designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBTQ hate group. The group specializes in pushing evangelical Christian values into legal frameworks, echoing tactics that helped overturn abortion rights in 2022.

Warnings from prominent figures such as Hillary Clinton suggest that it is only a matter of time before marriage equality is struck down in the US Whether or not this particular case succeeds, it fits into a larger pattern of relentless litigation aimed at reshaping the law in line with conservative religious ideology.

Britain has long projected itself as a leader in the global movement for LGBTQ equality. A decade ago, the UK topped ILGA-Europe’s ranking of European countries on LGBTQ rights. Today, it has fallen to 22nd place, a stark sign that complacency has allowed hard-won progress to slip away.

The erosion is most evident in the area of trans rights. Ministers are preparing to implement a so-called “bathroom ban” that would prevent trans people from using public toilets aligned with their lived gender. The proposed code changes could also restrict access to essential services, such as hospital wards, and limit participation in gendered associations.

These rollbacks are not isolated. They are the result of deliberate strategic litigation designed to curtail trans inclusion. In 2022, For Women Scotland challenged the inclusion of trans women in public sector board quotas. With financial support from figures such as author J.K. Rowling, the case escalated to the Supreme Court, which ruled this year that under the Equality Act, “sex” must be interpreted as fixed at birth.

Other cases follow the same model. In 2020, a High Court decision restricted puberty blocker access for trans children in England and Wales. Though later overturned, the ruling laid groundwork for political manoeuvres. Today, puberty blockers remain indefinitely banned under the Labour government. Behind this litigation stands lawyer Paul Conrathe, whose links to the US-based Alliance Defending Freedom – a major player in dismantling abortion rights – reveal a direct transatlantic connection.

One under-examined consequence of Brexit has been the removal of a crucial layer of legal protection for LGBTQ people. Membership in the EU tied the UK to equal treatment directives that guaranteed protections against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender reassignment, and sex. These directives were central to the Equality Act of 2010.

Moreover, European courts played a decisive role in advancing LGBTQ rights when Westminster lagged. From forcing the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland to guaranteeing trans people’s right to legal gender recognition, European rulings often filled the gaps left by domestic politics. With Brexit, this legal recourse has been severed. UK ministers now have far greater latitude to revoke EU-derived protections without parliamentary approval. Legal scholars warn that equalities legislation is more vulnerable than at any time in decades.

The April Supreme Court ruling against trans rights would almost certainly have been incompatible with EU law – but outside the bloc, there is no longer an external check.

Same-sex marriage was legalised in Britain in 2013, independently of EU membership. On the surface, it seems politically secure. Surveys consistently show broad public support, and no major party has called for its repeal. Yet, the political discourse around marriage equality reveals underlying vulnerabilities.

Right-wing commentators and politicians have often linked opposition to same-sex marriage with broader Euroscepticism. Figures such as Nigel Farage have argued that marriage equality was imposed under the influence of the European Court of Human Rights. He has repeatedly criticised David Cameron for supporting equal marriage, framing it as a betrayal of conservative voters.

Even if no mainstream party openly targets marriage equality, the infrastructure of rights around it – particularly protections against discrimination – is being chipped away. The Conservative manifesto has promised to limit spending on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Reform UK has gone further, pledging to scrap the Equality Act altogether. Without these frameworks, marriage equality itself becomes more fragile.

The fragility of reproductive rights provides a cautionary tale. Despite recent partial decriminalization in England and Wales, abortion remains politically contested. US anti-abortion groups have funnelled money into Britain, funding “crisis pregnancy centres” that discourage women from seeking abortions. Efforts to enshrine abortion as a legal right, such as Labour MP Stella Creasy’s proposed amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, have so far failed. Her justification was telling: she sought to protect rights from a “future regressive government,” drawing direct parallels with the US rollback.

Beyond domestic law, the most significant safeguard for LGBTQ rights in the UK remains the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Article 8 of the Convention – which guarantees respect for private and family life – has been central in advancing LGBTQ protections, including asylum cases for those fleeing persecution.

But Article 8 is under sustained attack from the political right. Critics argue that it hampers tough immigration policies. Calls to withdraw from the ECHR, once fringe, are now edging into mainstream debate. Even some Labour MPs have suggested reforms. Withdrawal would remove one of the last external mechanisms holding the UK accountable for human rights abuses.

Already, a trans woman and former judge has lodged a case against the UK at the ECHR, challenging the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Equality Act as violating Articles 8 and others. Should Britain distance itself from the Convention, such avenues of appeal could vanish, leaving individuals vulnerable to domestic majoritarian politics.

The surge of anti-trans rhetoric in British media is not accidental. Reports by the Council of Europe describe vitriolic campaigns that mirror the culture-war strategies of US conservatives. These narratives create the social climate that enables restrictive laws and court rulings. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, hostility has only intensified, suggesting that undermining human rights protections was always part of the long-term plan.

The idea that Britain is immune to the reactionary forces reshaping US law is a dangerous illusion. Strategic litigation, emboldened by Brexit, is eroding protections step by step. The threat is not limited to trans rights or abortion access; marriage equality and broader LGBTQ protections could ultimately be swept into the same tide.

If the US experience teaches anything, it is that rights can be rolled back even when public opinion is broadly supportive. The UK, once a leader in Europe, is now sliding down the rankings. To halt the decline, complacency must be replaced with vigilance, solidarity, and a willingness to confront the ideological networks seeking to reverse decades of progress.

Please follow Blitz on Google News Channel