The U.K. House of Commons just set a world record for openly LGBTQ members

The U.K.'s newly elected House of Commons holds the global record for the most openly gay members. University of North Carolina professor and election expert Andrew Reynolds calculated that now 7 percent of Parliament is openly LGBTQ.

Eight men — five from the Labour Party and three from the Tories — are the newest LGBTQ members of Parliament, bringing the total up to 45 out LGBTQ MPs. Reynolds reported that in total there are 19 Labour members, 19 Tories, and 7 SNP members who are openly gay.

While Thursday's election was a win for the LGBTQ community, it marked a devastating loss for British Prime Minister Theresa May as her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority. May's party did remain the largest party in Parliament, prompting May to say she will still form a government.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Conservatives are expected to win just 318 seats, while Labour is expected to bump its number of seats up to 261.