The Zhoosh! Brighton Blog
Brighton & Hove Green Party Launch LGBT Manifesto: National to Local Policy
Thursday night I attended the Green Party LGBT Manifesto launch at the Brighton Tavern. I was particularly interested with how their ‘cornerstone’ policies may have changed from 2010 which zhoosh covered last year.
The main shift I can identify immediately is a change from supporting national campaigns such as the lifetime ban on gay men giving blood to localised focused policies which Phelim Mac Cafferty, National Chair of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, trans) Greens outlined as:
“There are four core areas – community, safety, health and education- which cover the cornerstones of our LGBT local election manifesto – they are:
- Work with Sussex Police and community liaison officers to target incitement of hatred on grounds of sexuality and gender identity
- Financially and practically support LGBT community/ voluntary groups, particularly those supporting the vulnerable
- Defend initiatives which are helping our city tackle HIV and Aids
- Ensure that the special needs and profile of Brighton and Hove are recognised by those commissioning HIV and Aids work.
- Ensure that all voices within the community are represented in decision-making to ensure a long-term and sustainable future for Pride and the St James St party
- Fight proposals for further academy and ‘free’ schools as their competitive ethos undermines the push to free our schools from the scourge of prejudice
- Defend adult social care and commit to increased supported housing for those in vulnerable situations
This reflects the challenges especially that the LGBT community within Brighton & Hove face with the Government spending cuts, the outcome of which we are still to fully witness and comprehend the scale of. This shift by the Greens (and I expect the other political party’s) is well needed at this time to ensure protection for our LGBT community and the services that support the vulnerable and at-risk.
But I do worry that the national campaigns will be dropped from the radar – I guess that this is why it is so important that each of us stand up as LGBT citizens and not be complacent by the gains in equality achieved so far. The politicians and those around them are forced, in the current climate to campaign and fight around the boardroom tables in Government and council offices for Brighton & Hove services that protect and support us as the reality is these are under threat.
So it is up to each of us to keep LGBT rights and discrimination’s on the radar of national policy, which the Green Party last year identified as:
- Open up civil marriages and partnerships to both same-sex and opposite sex couples. (A separate law is not an equal law-ed)
- All police forces to have LGBTIQ Liaison Officers with paid time allocated to tackle homophobic and transphobic hate crime.
- End the lifetime ban on gay an bisexual blood donors.
- Amend the Equality Act to provide explicit protection against harassmnt to LGBTQI people.
- Refuse visa and work permits to ‘murder music’ singers and others who incite homo and transphobic violence.
- Ensure safe haven and refugee status or LGBTQI people fleeing persecution.
I am not clear how far each of these has been achieved by the Green Party over the last 12 months? What is clear to me though is that there is even greater pressure on community events such as Pride and the Stonewall Equality Walk, to bring us together to deliver messages about ALL the issues that as lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans individuals we are still facing.
photo by www.alonglines.co.uk
Caroline Lucas MP sums it all up well,
“Help us to continue the fight for fairness for our community”.
Voting will take place on May 5th”
http://www.brightonhovegreens.org
For previous blogs about last years Green Party Manifesto launch see:
