Every year, around this time, someone will ask 'Do we really need Gay Pride?', 'Isn't it all sorted now?', 'Isn't it just a big party?'

Yes, we still need Pride. Not in spite of how far we've come, but because progress is never guaranteed.

We need Pride when young people in schools are still bullied for being 'too camp' or 'too butch'.

We need Pride when some families still kick their children out for being honest about who they are.

We need Pride when trans people are vilified in the media, misrepresented in politics, and made to feel unsafe in their own communities.

We need Pride when hate crime is rising. When conversion practices still haven't been banned. When people in Macclesfield wake up to find anti-LGBT+ posters pinned to lampposts.

And we need Pride because across the world - right now - being LGBT+ can still get you arrested, assaulted, or killed. In 63 countries, homosexuality is illegal. In many, Pride itself is banned as we saw even in Europe last week.

So no - it's not 'just a party'.

ALSO READ: 'Now, more than ever, we are calling on our community to stand together'

Pride is joy, yes. But it is also protest. It is solidarity. It is a powerful, visible refusal to be pushed back into the closet or shamed into silence.

 Visibility in a world where LGBT+ people are often erased or sidelined. We all live in a culture that assumes straightness as the norm - from films and adverts to schools and workplaces. Pride is one month where LGBT+ people celebrate who they are openly and unapologetically. It's not about excluding anyone - it's about finally being seen.

And that's why, on July 5, we'll come together once again for Macclesfield Pride - to celebrate, to stand tall, and to say loudly and clearly: we are here, we belong, and we are proud.

Even when those hateful posters went up recently - vile attempts to divide us - they were taken down just as quickly. Not by the authorities, but by us. By neighbours, volunteers, and strangers who refused to let that kind of poison define our community.

That's the Macclesfield I'm proud to represent.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know ahead of MaccPride 2025

MaccPride returns this Saturday, July 5 (Credit: Irene Lea)

Equality is never a finished project. It must be protected, defended and strengthened -again and again.

And Macclesfield has shown time and time again that it is a place of compassion, solidarity and quiet strength. We are not perfect. But we are better when we stand together.

So on July 5th, bring your friends, your family, your neighbours. Come for the music, the joy and the colour - but stay for the message.

Nobody should ever feel afraid, ashamed or excluded because of who they are or who they love.

Not here. Not anywhere.

Happy Pride, Macclesfield. I'll see you there, with my head high, my heart full, and my flag held proud.