He wants to fight against stigmata: Philip Normal is the first openly HIV+ mayor elected in Britain. The 38-year-old is an artist and designer, queer activist – and now mayor of the London borough of Lambeth, which also includes the queer neighbourhood of Vauxhall.

The fashion designer, who runs a shop in Brixton Village Market, already represents Oval since the 2018 local elections as this also belongs to the borough of Lambeth. On 22 April, Normal was elected District Mayor of Lambeth in a virtual annual general meeting of the Labour Party. Although due to the Corona crisis this is going to be a very different process than he had ever imagined, said Normal, he felt incredibly honoured.

Lambeth is a borough in Greater London with a population of over 300,000 and is supposed to have largest queer population in the whole of Great Britain at 5.5%. The trendy neighbourhood of Vauxhall and the cruising ground on Clapham Common also belong to Lambeth.

Normal aims to bring people and communities closer together and to increase support for young people, artists and local organisations. A special project of the 38-year-old’s heart: to raise money for the Albert Kennedy Trust charity. The organisation helps queer young people who are homeless or living in hostile housing conditions – a common problem in the borough. Since the city council was unable to deliver the ceremonial chain after the election as usual, he unceremoniously made its own in bright pink. The chain is to be auctioned off after the lockdown, with the proceeds going to the Albert Kennedy Trust.

The necklace will be auctioned after the lockdown

Normal is a queer activist – ever since he came out twenty years ago. In 2005 he was diagnosed with HIV, which he also deals with openly. Thanks to the medication and the incredible work of the British health system NHS, he can lead a long and healthy life like many others. Normal said that talking openly about his status was an individual decision and no one should feel obliged to do so. The newly elected mayor continued:

“But I hope that with my decision I can show that there are no boundaries for people living with HIV and that we must remove the stigma of HIV once and for all”.

And he also draws a connection to the Corona crisis:

“Moreover, the history of HIV treatment in this time of great fear for our communities and tragedy for too many reminds us that there is always hope thanks to medical science”.

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