Sir Keir Starmer has made a number of promises to the LGBTQ+ community.
The Labour leader announced that his party would create a new role which would work to improve LGBTQ+ rights for people across the world if Labour were to come to power. He also claimed it would uphold the Equality Act, which his party passed in 2010 while in government, and “modernise" the Gender Recognition Act.
His comments come after he criticised the government for its response to the monkeypox outbreak and its failure to appoint an LGBTQ+ rights envoy. Sir Keir also touched upon the “rhetoric we’ve seen towards trans people” and the use of minority rights for “tactical gain”.
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Speaking at the PinkNews Awards 2022, He said: “It isn't that long ago that events like this served as a symbol of how promoting LGBT+ equality had become an issue of political consensus. Sadly I'm not sure that holds in the same way any longer.
"The rhetoric we've seen towards trans people is an obvious example, and I've been really clear, my Labour Government will uphold the Equality Act we were proud to pass in 2010, including its provisions for single-sex spaces. When minority rights become an issue political parties feel comfortable using for tactical gain, the inevitable result is division in the country and heartbreak in the community."
Sir Keir claimed the appointment of an international LGBTQ+ rights envoy, would be a fitting tribute to his former colleague, human rights barrister Jonathan Cooper, who received a posthumous lifetime achievement award at the event on Wednesday, October 19.
He added: "I want a new consensus on LGBT+ equality, not a political brawl. I want the British people to want no more division. It's time to move the conversation forward. If the Tories can't join this new consensus, I will show leadership."
The Labour leader went on to call for a ban on conversion therapy "in all its forms" following multiple U-turns from the Conservative government and blamed them for abandoning queer men in the UK during the monkeypox outbreak.
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