Thousands of Ashfield residents identify with LGB+ sexual orientation

The Office for National Statistics introduced voluntary questions for people aged 16 and over on sexual orientation and gender identity​​ in the 2021 census.

The ONS data shows 2,641 people in Ashfield identified as a sexual orientation other than heterosexual when the census was carried out in March 2021 – 2.6 per cent of respondents.

The most common LGB+ sexualities were gay or lesbian, 54.9 per cent of those who did not identify as straight, and bisexual, 37.4 per cent.

The majority of residents said they were heterosexual, 90.7 per cent.

A further 7,000 people in Ashfield did not answer the question.

Across England and Wales, about 1.5 million people identified with an LGB+ sexual orientation in the 2021 census, 3.2 per cent of those aged 16 and over.

Overall, 1.5 per cent described themselves as gay or lesbian, 1.3 per cent described themselves as bisexual and 0.3 per cent selected “other sexual orientation”.

The census also asked people aged 16 and over about gender identity, with 338, 0.3 per cent, Ashfield residents stating they did not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth.

Of them, 63 people were trans men and 61 were trans women. A further 38 said they were non-binary.

About 5,800 people did not answer the voluntary question.

Nationally, 262,000 people said their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth, 0.5 per cent of the population aged 16 and over.

Nancy Kelley, Stonewall chief executive, said: “For the past two centuries of data gathering through our national census, LGBTQ+ people have been invisible, with the stories of our communities, diversity and lives missing from the national record.

“Today is a historic step forward after decades of Stonewall campaigning to record sexual orientation and gender identity in the census, finally painting an accurate picture of the diverse ‘Rainbow Britain’ we now live in, where more and more of us are proud to be who we are.”

The LGBT Foundation said the data is a “huge first step in making LGBTQ+ people feel included”, but said it will be years before the figures provide an accurate picture.