Stonewall has plunged into the red as funding from the public sector and businesses wilted.
The controversial LGBT group’s income fell from £6.9million in 2024 to £4.7million in the last financial year, accounts show, but spending of £5.6million left it with a net deficit of £906,362.
This put its ‘total funds’ in reserve at just £91,811 in March 2025 – down from £998,173 only 12 months earlier.
The group received £1.8million in fees for its contentious diversity awards schemes – which rated workplaces’ LGBT inclusion levels – down from £2.4million in 2024, after a host of big names began distancing themselves amid concerns over Stonewall’s radical stance on trans rights.
Corporation donations also fell to £143,149 in 2025, down from £348,636 in 2024. Stonewall said it received £454,645 in grants from ‘government sources’ but did not include any details. In its previous annual report, the figure was £618,757.
The charity was co-founded in 1989 by actors Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Cashman, among others, and won a string of victories for gay rights, including legalising same-sex marriage. But in recent years it vociferously campaigned for trans rights – lobbying the NHS, police and Whitehall to introduce ‘inclusive’ policies and gender-neutral language.
John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said last night: ‘This is a spectacular implosion of a taxpayer-propped woke racket that is finally running out of other people’s money.’
In an attempt to deal with the cash crisis, the charity admitted it had ‘made a reduction of 44 heads’, spending £276,317 on redundancy payments. But its trustees insisted that they have a ‘reasonable expectation’ that Stonewall has ‘adequate resources to continue in operational existence’.
Maya Forstater of women’s rights charity Sex Matters, said: ‘Stonewall’s plummeting income from fees reflects the haemorrhaging of confidence in its advice.
‘Being misinformed about the law is worse than useless – it puts businesses at risk of being sued by customers or employees.’
A Stonewall spokesman said: ‘Stonewall has had an underlying deficit in recent years. During 2024/25 and up to March 31, Stonewall went through a period of restructuring, to significantly reduce its cost base and reset the organisation, in order to continue to deliver on the new strategy.
‘It should be noted that although published in December 2025, these figures reflect the financial position of the organisation at the end of the financial year – ie March 2025.
‘However, the action we have taken to address this in the latter half of 2024/25 is now reflected in positive financial results in the first half of the financial year 2025/26.
‘Having taken all the necessary steps to address the deficit, Stonewall is now taking action to rebuild reserves in line with best practice.’
