Christine Jardine, who is our Women and Equalities spokesperson, will be bringing a consultation paper to Spring Conference on LGBT+ policy. This post is on the Lib Dem website.
Social justice is at the heart of everything we believe in as Liberal Democrats.
Not just social justice for some, but for everyone.
That is why we work so hard to ensure that we can deliver positive change for our often victimised and vulnerable LGBT+ community.
From Ed Davey moving the repeal of the abhorrent Section 28, to the tireless work of Liberal Democrat ministers like Lynne Featherstone in getting the Same Sex Marriage Act passed, our party has always been at the heart of many important steps towards equality.
But sadly there is still more to do.
Prejudice and discrimination are still far too often visited on the LGBT+ community.
Made worse by years of a Conservative government intent on using vulnerable people as pawns in their culture wars. Not to mention the heartbreaking reality that LGBT+ people are more likely to suffer from poor health outcomes, homelessness, and difficulties accessing public services.
Liberal Democrats want to build a country where nobody’s life chances are limited because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That is why I will be producing a spokesperson’s paper, in my capacity as Women and Equalities Spokesperson, to outline what steps we need to take to make this a reality.
I am consulting widely – both across the party, and with external groups and experts, and consulting fellow MPs, and spokespeople who cover crucial issues such as Health and Social Care, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs.
To make sure I reach as wide a group of party members as possible I have set up a consultation form, which I hope as many Liberal Democrat members as possible will fill in. I would be very grateful if you might be able to spare a few minutes to complete this survey, which can be found here.
It is crucial that our party policy in this area continues to be progressive, comprehensive and focused on the issues that matter most to LGBT+ people. Thank you for your help.
The consultation will close on Friday 1 November
* Christine Jardine is MP for Edinburgh West and spokesperson for Women & Equalities and Scotland
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3 Comments
As a former member of the Liberal Democrats – I won’t rejoin as a result of how I felt when the Liberal Democrats agreed to back the Tories in government in 2010 – I remain a Liberal Democrat at heart and would like if my views could also be taken into account. I get it that Party membership grants privileges but I would hope the Party would seek input from those who align themselves with the Party rather than just the minority of Liberal Democrats who decide to sign up.
@MaryFulton. Whatever I thought about the coalition – and I backed its formation in 2010 – only 3 MPs remain who were involved plus Andrew George and Tessa Munt who just got back after 9 years out of parliament. By my calculation that leaves 67 MPs who had nothing to do with the coalition at all.
And, by the way, we DID NOT agree to back the Tories, we formed a coalition and many of our policies were implemented and many Tory ones were not. That’s the nature of coalition.
We are in a wholly different place now and I can see no scenario in which we would form a coalition with the Tories, and Ed has clearly ruled it out. In fact I can see no likelihood of forming a coalition with anyone at all.
So, Ms Fulton, do what most of us have done, suck it up, rejoin and get active in the party making sure we really push for the radical policies in our manifesto. Sitting on the sidelines won’t achieve anything. There’s a real buzz in the party right now and a determination to move forward with our agenda. We would all welcome you on that journey.
@Mick Taylor
Thanks for your comments. I have continued to help by delivering leaflets at elections but the impact on my mental health at the time of the Coalition is something I can never forget.