LGBT+ Labour: Difference between revisions

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The Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Rights

File:LGBT Labour logo.jpg The LGBT Labour Logo.
Abbreviation	LGBT Labour
Formation	1975
Type	LGBT, Labour
Purpose	To campaign for LGBT rights within the Labour movement and for Labour within the LGBT community
Headquarters	PO Box 306, London, N5 2SY
Region served	United Kingdom
Co-chairs	Tom Burke & Cllr Bev Craig
Main organ	National Committee[1]
Affiliations	Labour Party
Website	www.lgbtlabour.org.uk/

LGBT Labour, the Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, is a socialist society^[2] affiliated to the Labour Party. Its purpose is to campaign within the Labour Party and wider Labour movement to promote the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities, as well as to encourage members of the LGBT community to support the Labour Party. 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of the organisation.

Membership is primarily made up of members of the Labour Party and trade unionists. Membership is also open to non-members of the Labour Party, as long as they are not members of another political party.^[3]

LGBT Labour is run by an elected national committee which is elected every year at its annual general meeting.^[1] LGBT Labour also has a number of regional groups to carry out its work in those areas, which have their own smaller committees to run them, also democratically elected. LGBT Labour has no staff members and all committee members are volunteers.

The LGBT Labour AGM also agrees its policy positions as well as identifying the work programme for the National Committee.

There are regional groups for the North West, London and the South East, West Midlands, Yorkshire & the Humber, East Midlands and the South West. Convenors are elected to run the Scottish and Welsh campaigns. The small committees for the regional groups are elected at their own local AGMs. These groups carry out LGBT Labour's work on a local basis and also campaign on local issues.^[4]

LGBT Labour also works with the wider Labour movement and accepts affiliations from trades unions, co-ops, local Labour parties, university Labour groups and local trades union branches.

Labour Students are affiliated to LGBT Labour along with a number of national trades unions including: Community, CWU, GMB, Unison, Unite and USDAW^[5]

LGBT Labour is affiliated to Rainbow Rose^[6] the LGBT group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats which brings to the LGBT groups of the centre left parties in European Union countries. They are also affiliated to ILGA_Europe.^[7]

LGBT Labour invites out LGBT politicians from the Westminster Parliament, European Parliament and the UK's devolved bodies to act as patrons of the campaign.^[8] The current patrons are:

LGBT Labour is the successor to the Gay Labour Group. The Gay Labour Group, sometimes referred to as the Gay Labour Caucus was set up in 1975 and one of the group's first banners is currently displayed at the People's History Museum^[9] in Manchester.^[10] In 1978 the name was changed first to the Labour Campaign for Gay Rights and later the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights.^[11]

In 2002 the Campaign became a socialist society and affiliated to the Labour Party.^[12] As a Socialist society affiliated to the Labour Party the organisation has the right to submit motions and send a delegate to the Labour Party Conference, participate in Party structures including electing 3 members of the National Policy Forum and a representative to the National Executive Committee (NEC). Since 2012 LGBT Labour has been entitled to directly elect a representative to the National Policy Forum in its own right. Members are able to vote in Party elections alongside other socialist societies and members of affiliated trade unions who pay the political levy.

For the 2010 general election LGBT Labour established a campaign fund called Dorothy’s List to support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans candidates Labour parliamentary candidates. This fund continues for other elections and has since been renamed The Chris Smith List (after Chris Smith the first British MP to come out as gay whilst in office in 1984^[13]) for which an annual fund-raising dinner is held.^[14] The campaign fund draws its inspiration from Emily's List in the US.

An initial fundraising target of £2,000 was set, later raised to £5,000. The final fund was in excess of £12,000^[15] and the money was distributed amongst 28 LGBT parliamentary candidates with money being focused on candidates in marginal seats. There was also extra money provided to support women candidates, acknowledging all political parties have shortage of representation of lesbian and bisexual women.^{[16][failed verification]}

The Chris Smith List continues and is being used for the 2015 election.^[17]

LGBT Labour also produced an LGBT manifesto for the 2010 general election with the Labour Party launching the document in Soho with the party's Deputy leader Harriet Harman and the then Foreign Secretary, David Miliband.^[18]

A leaflet campaign was also run targeting gay bars across the country in 2010 as well as a campaigning days in key seats, especially those with gay and lesbian MPs. Since 2010 this format has continued with campaigning for out candidates in council elections and the European elections. A programme of election campaigning is being rolled out for the 2015 general election with both local campaign days and phone banks.

During the Labour leadership election of 2010 LGBT Labour decided not to endorse any candidate but use the opportunity to lobby all candidates on LGBT issues, a process that had previously been used during the deputy labour leadership election in 2007. A series of questions were sent to all candidates asked by LGBT Labour members and readers of PinkNews.com^[19] During the leadership campaign LGBT Labour received promises on a number of LGBT issues most notably on support for gay marriage.^[20]

LGBT Labour has been able, working with unions and constituency Labour parties, to ensure included a number of motions were carried at the Labour Party Conference. The most recent of these As of 2005^[update] was a Contemporary resolution at the 2005 Party Conference on the inclusion of sexual orientation in the protections against discrimination in goods, facilities and services in the Equality Bill then going through Parliament (later to become the Equality Act 2006).^{[21][failed verification]}

In 2008 LGBT Labour submitted^{[failed verification]} a rule change to add gender identity to the discrimination policies of the Labour Party rule book. It was carried by 98.43%^[22]

LGBT Labour attend Prides every summer including London, Brighton and Manchester Prides. During the year regular events are held from fundraising events to social events.

LGBT Labour is also active at the annual Labour Party conference every autumn with a place on the Socialist Societies stall in the conference exhibition area. They hold a Saturday night social at the start of Labour conference every year,^[23] originally launched in 2006 under the name 'The Only Party in the Village',^[24] and an annual fringe meeting with Stonewall.

• LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
• LGBTory
• LGBT+ Liberal Democrats

Sister political groups around the world:

• Rainbow Labor (Australia)
• Soho (Austria)
• Homosexualités et Socialisme (France)
• Schwusos (Germany)
• Labour LGBT (Ireland)
• LGBT Labour (Malta)
• PvdA (Netherlands)
• Rainbow Labour (New Zealand)
• Arbeiderpartiet (Norway)
• Grupo LGBT del PSOE (Spain)
• HBTs (Sweden)
• GaynossInnen (Switzerland)
• Stonewall Democrats (USA)
• Rainbow Rose (European wide)