Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights

LGBT Labour, the Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, is a socialist society and is 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.

Membership is open to Labour Party members as well as those who are eligible to be members of the Party who are members of TUC affiliated Trade Unions, the Co-operative Party, students or unwaged. In addition a number of national trade unions and branches are also affiliated.

LGBT Labour has an Annual General Meeting which agrees policy positions as well as identifying the work programme for the National Committee, elected at the AGM.

History

The precursor to the Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights was the Gay Labour Caucus which was set up in 1975. One of the group's first banners is currently displayed at the People's History Museum in Manchester. In 1978 the name was changed to the Labour Campaign for Gay Rights and was subsequently changed to the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The Constitution was also amended in 2004 to allow the organization to include transgender members as part of its remit. In 2007, the organisation voted to change its name to the Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights to better reflect its concern for issues affecting all of the LGBT community. At this time, it was decided that the organisation would use LGBT Labour as its short name rather than using the newly longer initialism.

In 2002 the Campaign became a socialist society and affiliated to the Labour Party.

ignificant achievements

The most significant achievements of LGBT Labour have included a number of motions carried at the Labour Party Conference. The most recent of these 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).

Whilst LGBT Labour has had occasion to highlight lack of progress of the UK Labour government towards achieving full equality for LGBT people the period of office of the Labour government from 1997 has seen numerous improvements in legislation such as the repeal of section 28, the equalisation of the age of consent for gay men, the introduction of Civil Parnerships for same sex couples, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the promise of measures to combat discrimination in field of goods, facilities and services.

LGBT Labour submitted a rule change to add gender identity to the discrimination policies of the Labour Party rule book. It was carried by 98.43%

ee also

*List of organisations associated with the British Labour Party
*List of LGBT-related organizations
*UK LGBT Timeline

Equivalent organisations in the other major parties include

* Conservatives LGBTory
* The Liberal Democrats Delga

External links

* [http://lgbtlabour.org.uk Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights - official website]
* [http://82.71.77.169/web/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=10435&reftable=ecatalogue&refirn=10241 "Gay Labour Group" Banner in the People's History Museum]