As part of the LGBTQ+ community, I am petrified by what is happening in Poland right now. 2 hours and 25 minutes is the time it would take to fly from the UK to Poland. Within that time, you would travel from the UK, where LGBTQ+ rights are protected by law, to a country where its government is systematically undoing the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. To put that in perspective: it would take you 2 hours and 25 minutes to travel from London to Birmingham. Imagine driving from either location to find on arrival you were in an, “LGBT+ free zone” which is what a third of Poland’s states are now calling themselves. Last year, several parts of Poland – mostly in the south-east – declared themselves, ‘LGBTQ+ free zones’ and ‘free from LGBT ideology,’ with a third of the country since following suit. In retaliation, LGBTQ+ friendly countries in Europe removed twinning agreements and today, the European union has removed funding for these areas.