A memorial has been installed to a councillor believed to be the first openly gay politician elected in the UK, with support from two of our historians.
Councillor Sam Green was elected to the now-abolished Durham City Council in 1972.
A psychiatric nurse and member of the Gay Liberation Front, Cllr Green was elected for the Liberal Party, representing the Crossgate ward.
Homosexuality had been decriminalised in England just five years earlier.
A blue plaque honouring Cllr Green has been installed at his childhood home in Durham City by the City of Durham Parish Council.
Professor Richard Huzzey and Dr David Minto, from our Department of History, have been researching Cllr Green’s career, and supported the proposal.
Prof Huzzey said Cllr Green was a much-loved figure in Durham, whose election broke expectations at the time about whether an openly gay man could win public office.
Councillor Susan Walker, of City of Durham Parish Council, said she hoped the plaque would inspire Cllr Green’s story to be told more widely, saying he was a brave man.
Cllr Green served on Durham City Council until 1979. He moved away from Durham in 1980, and died in 1999, aged 58.
Prof Huzzey and Dr Minto continue to research Cllr Green’s life, with a view to publishing their findings in academic journal.
Photograph: Politicians at the plaque unveiling. Courtesy of City of Durham Parish Council.
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