Book banning in the UK – will US influence succeed in removing LGBTQ+ books from our libraries?

Book censorship in the US has risen significantly in recent years, with many organisations being formed for the specific purpose of campaigning to have certain books banned from schools and public libraries. According to the American Library Association’s State of America’s Libraries 2025 Report, 72% of book ban requests in the past year were initiated by political pressure groups, elected officials, and library board members/administrators themselves. Only 16% of these requests were submitted by parents, and fewer than 5% by other individuals.

The same study found that in 2024, 4,190 books were attacked by these groups, and the primary concern of most of these titles was the experiences of LGBTQ+ people or people of colour. In Tennessee, a law was adopted in schools banning any books that contained sexual content, excessive violence, or anything deemed “patently offensive”; this led to the loss of otherwise acclaimed books like Slaughterhouse Five and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

[librarians] now fear purchasing new books for the library, feeling “intimidated” rather than excited to curate a diverse collection

The influence of these political groups appears to have reached the UK, where attempts at book censorship are on the rise. Most of these bans are proposed by individuals or small groups rather than funded organisations, but the same anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments remain. A study by Index on Censorship found that 53% of school librarians surveyed had received book removal requests, and 56% of these were successful. They also share the story of a secondary school librarian being told to remove the entire LGBTQ collection from her library after a parent complained about one book; she now fears purchasing new books for the library, feeling “intimidated” rather than excited to curate a diverse collection.

Professor Alison Hicks from UCL interviewed 10 school librarians from across the UK, and found that they received many requests to remove books including Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series, about a relationship between two British schoolboys, and Juno Dawson’s This Book is Gay, described by the author as a “manual to all areas of life as an LGBT person”. These ban requests came in the form of signed or anonymous letters from parents with titles of books they wished to see removed. One librarian found a leaflet from a right-wing religious organisation left in their library, while others reported being targeted on social media.

The efforts of organisations in the US are undeniably affecting attitudes towards censorship in the UK… this censorship could be extremely harmful to the very people it claims to shelter.

Students have also been responsible for this censorship, vandalising books with pejorative language and damaging displays. Professor Hicks described these attacks on books as having a “huge impact” on how school libraries function, and believes that in comparison to the US, her results show “that UK school librarians are facing equivalent levels of distress and hostility in the face of book ban challenges.”

Stonewall, the largest LGBTQ rights charity in the UK, has voiced concerns about this increased trend of homophobic and transphobic action both by students and their parents. They see it as “vital that schools ensure that all young people have access to inclusive educational materials” and “know that many students find great importance and reassurance in seeing themselves reflected in books and media”.

While it is not occurring on the same scale, the efforts of organisations in the US are undeniably affecting attitudes towards censorship in the UK, with more and more parents requesting the removal of books from school libraries due to the representation of LGBTQ people and stories. Though a common excuse for this is to ‘protect’ young people from being ‘exposed’ to the LGBTQ community, this censorship could be extremely harmful to the very people it claims to shelter. If this removal of content from school libraries continues, thousands of young people, many of whom find themselves at a crucial time in their life in understanding their identity, could be deprived of books and resources that could be instrumental in helping them discover and accept who they are.