LGBT+ Labour follow the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights with a list of crucial pledges for leadership hopefuls to sign
Labour Party members march at Pride in London 2017 (Photo: LGBT Labour)
LGBT+ Labour has released a list of 10 pledges that it’s calling on leader and deputy leadership hopefuls to sign, in the wake of a grassroots trans-rights movement within the party.
The Labour-affiliated campaign group has published a list of pledges calling for better LGBT+ rights in Labour and wider society.
The group’s list of pledges follows the launch, earlier this week, of the grassroots Labour Campaign for Trans Rights, which had 12 pledges for trans liberation it called on Labour members to sign up to.
Thousands have signed the Labour Campaign for Trans Right’s pledges since they were published on February 10, but there has also been a backlash from organisations that the campaign deemed “transphobic” and from Labour members.
Leadership hopefuls Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry all signed the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights pledges, as did deputy leadership hopefuls Dawn Butler and Angela Rayner.
The pledges they signed up to vowed to “expel transphobes” from the party and stand with the trans and non-binary community.
But Keir Starmer, the frontrunner in the Labour leadership campaign, did not sign the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights pledges – though he did sign LGBT+ Labour’s pledges.
We're asking each of the Labour Leader and Deputy Leader candidates to sign up to our 10 pledges that we believe are vital to protecting and extending the rights of LGBT+ people in the Labour party and in wider society.
This is what we're asking for 👇 pic.twitter.com/dK3fmQQB3e
— LGBT+ Labour (@LGBTLabour) February 12, 2020
“I stand in full solidarity with our LGBT+ members and the wider community, will defend LGBT+ rights and protections, and campaign with you for the changes rightly prioritised here. Look forward to the hustings!” Starmer said.
Dawn Butler, Angela Rayner and Dr Rosena Allin-Khan also signed LGBT+ Labour’s pledges.
Launching its pledges on February 12, LGBT+ Labour said: “We’re asking each of the Labour Leader and Deputy Leader candidates to sign up to our 10 pledges that we believe are vital to protecting and extending the rights of LGBT+ people in the Labour party and in wider society. This is what we’re asking for.”
The 10 pledges focused on: LGBT+ inclusive sex and relationships education; reform of the Gender Recognition Act and legal recognition for non-binary trans people; making anti-LGBT+ hate crimes aggravated offences; vast improvements to healthcare provision for LGBT+ people; tackling LGBT+ homelessness; making LGBT+ conversion therapy illegal; campaigning for LGBT+ rights globally; increasing LGBT+ representation within Labour leadership; introducing an independent complaints process within Labour to tackle LGBT+ related discrimination; and committing to consulting LGBT+ Labour on decisions that affect the LGBT+ community.
