Book banning or Book Bans — a practice as old as the printed word — is making a troubling return in the UK. What was once thought of as a relic of history is back in the headlines, with queer literature often finding itself at the centre of the storm. The question is no longer “Could it happen here?” but “Why is it happening again?”

A Legacy of Censorship

Britain’s history of banning books is long and uneasy, often tied to sexual “obscenity” laws. Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness (1928) — a sympathetic portrayal of lesbian love — was swiftly banned for daring to exist, despite containing no explicit content. Havelock Ellis’s Sexual Inversion faced a similar fate in 1897, vanishing from English shelves for nearly 40 years.

Even in modern memory, Section 28 (1988–2003) cast a long shadow, banning local authorities from “promoting homosexuality.” While it didn’t target specific titles, it gutted library shelves of anything queer-positive for an entire generation.

Other classics faced the censor’s hand too: D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover endured a public obscenity trial in 1960, while James Joyce’s Ulysses remained banned until 1936.

The New Wave of Bans

Fast forward to today, and the bans are back — often quietly, sometimes loudly — with LGBTQ+ books in the crosshairs. A survey by Index on Censorship found that over half of UK school librarians had been asked to remove books. In most cases, the request came from parents, and in far too many cases, the books vanished.

Among the most targeted:

• This Book Is Gay — Juno Dawson

• Julián is a Mermaid — Jessica Love

• ABC Pride — Louie Stowell, Elly Barnes & Amy Phelps

• Heartstopper series — Alice Oseman

• Billy’s Bravery — Tom Percival

• Tricks — Ellen Hopkins

Some librarians have faced intimidation, even threats to their jobs, for resisting. In extreme cases, every LGBTQ+ book in a library was purged after a single complaint.

Quiet Censorship: The Bans You Don’t See

The most insidious trend? “Quiet censorship” — where books never make it to the shelf (a clandestine form of censorship), and book bans. Some authors have been told not to bring their own LGBTQ+ books to school events. In 2025, Kent County Council took further action, ordering the removal of all transgender-related children’s books from its 99 libraries.

Following the US Playbook

Many of these UK cases mirror US campaigns, where book challenges have hit record highs. This transatlantic influence, coupled with political rhetoric framing trans existence as “ideological,” has created fertile ground for censorship.

Fighting Back

There is resistance. Banned Books Week UK returns in October 2025, rallying libraries, bookshops, authors, and readers. Groups like Index on Censorship, Stonewall, and the Society of Authors continue to push back, reminding us that libraries are for everyone — and that children exploring sexuality and identity are safer with accurate books than with the unfiltered internet.

The fight isn’t just about shelves. It’s about empathy, understanding, and the refusal to let fear dictate what people can know. As author Simon James Green put it, book banners trade in “hate and fear” — but the counter is “love and acceptance,” which, in the end, will win.

If Britain’s past teaches us anything, it’s this: the freedom to read is never permanently won. It must be defended, again and again.

 

Links:

• The Censorship Acceleration An Analysis of Book Ban Trends After 2020
• The Belfast Anarchist Collection, Just books
• Crescent Arts – Books Festival
• School Is In: LGBTQ Picture Books
• Firm apologises for saying it would not process LGBTQ+ payments 
• Free speech row as National Library of Scotland bans book opposing gender self-ID after staff complained of ‘hate speech’