PinkNews Q&A: Submit your questions for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is taking part in a Q&A with PinkNews readers, ahead of the 2017 General Election.
Left-wing MP Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party in 2015, and was re-elected in 2016 after a leadership challenge.
The Labour leader was one of the earliest supporters of LGBT rights in Parliament, and has championed LGBT causes throughout his time as leader.
He was a headline speaker at last year’s PinkNews Awards, where he warned about “complacency” on equality and vowed to reform the National Curriculum to put a focus on LGBT rights and history.
He has many other LGBT policies, from protecting historically-important gay bars from redevelopment to equalities training for bus drivers.
Ahead of the June election, Mr Corbyn is among the party leaders to agree to answer questions from PinkNews readers.
You can submit your questions for Mr Corbyn below.
Submit your questions for Lib Dem leader Tim Farron here.
Submit your questions for SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon here.
Speaking at the PinkNews Awards last year, Mr Corbyn said: “We must be wary of complacency – because for all the progress we have made in our recent past there are voices who are happy to promote hatred with populist and bigoted language.
“Since the EU referendum we have seen an astronomic rise in homophobic and transgender hate crimes.
“To deal with this, the police must have the resources to investigate, the CPS must have the funds to prosecute, but to deal with the hate too many from the LBGT communities face we need to start before the police investigation.
“We need to intervene before the court case. I firmly believe that the role of government is to challenge the environment where hate festers. And that must begin with education, because the more we know and the less we fear.
“I believe that the state – your government – can and should intervene.
“That’s why I made a promise in the recent leadership campaign that the next Labour Government would actively update the national curriculum to reflect LGBT historical figures and the fight for LGBT rights, and we have the evidence that this positive promotion works.”
Also at the PinkNews Awards he praised Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron for the passage of same-sex marriage, adding: “But I say this about him – without any ambiguity – without his tenacity, without his commitment, without his persistence and without a few hundred Labour MPs, equal marriage would not be law in this country today.
“He should rightly be proud of what he achieved because without him leading the way there are people in this room tonight who would not have the same status as heterosexual couples.”.
However, his record on equality and diversity as leader is not without scrutiny.
In 2016 Mr Corbyn neglected to appoint a dedicated shadow equalities minister to his shadow cabinet for three months after the previous shadow minister resigned.
Similarly, the role of Shadow Minister for Diverse Communities, which was created by Mr Corbyn to focus on minority groups, has now been vacant for four months after another resignation
He was challenged in a PinkNews Live last year for taking money from an Iranian state-owned TV channel while a backbench MP.
