23/11/2025
Activists, campaigners and members of the Durham LGBTQIA+ community gathered on a suburban street in the town on November 17th to honour Sam Green (deceased 1999) who had been the first elected openly gay man in the UK. Mr Green was a member of both the Gay Liberation Front, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and the Liberal Party and served as a Councillor on the now abolished Durham City Council between 1972 and 1999. Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, unveiled the plaque. Parish councillor Susan Walker said she hoped the plaque would inspire Mr Green's story to be told more widely. She said: "His story is such an important part of Durham's history but it isn't that well known. "By commissioning the plaque and having it out here helps us tell the story, it's so important for diversity - he was such a brave man."
