Having been around at the time that AIDS first came across our radar – every World Aids Day makes me remember those early and quite horrific days. Not only did none of us know how far back in our own histories this illness might reach – before showing itself – but there was the most terrifying of public information advertisements warning us of death if we didn’t have safe sex.
And everyone took notice – then. My fear currently is that with outcomes much better than in those days people have dangerously lapsed – both gay and straight – into not necessarily taking the precautions that still need to be taken.
With the news that nearly a quarter of people who are HIV positive not even knowing that is the case – it is crucial that we all take more care. This is a link to the message that I sent out out yesterday with a plea to sign up to a five point pledge to take more care of ourselves – not just for ourselves – but for our family and friends.
Lynne Featherstone 
I see you’ve just legalised sex discrimination today Lynne:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335054/Employers-given-right-hire-women-men-positive-discrimination-laws.html
So much for Equalities, this is quite despicable and goes against everything the Liberal Democrats are supposed to stand for. We want the best person in every job, there is no “positive” discrimination, just discrimination.
You should be deeply ashamed of what you’ve done.
Plans to force businesses to disclose the pay gap between male and female employees in Britain have been abandoned by the coalition government, in a reversal of a Liberal Democrat manifesto pledge.
Instead, businesses will be expected to reduce the pay gap, which is one of the biggest in Europe, by voluntary means. This will be part of a new strategy under which the government department dedicated to equalities will lose its independence and be brought into the Home Office.
The decision was criticised by equalities campaigners, who called it a huge disappointment and accused the government of watering down an already weak proposal on tackling equal pay.
In an interview with the Guardian to unveil the strategy, equalities minister Lynne Featherstone explained her own change of heart on the issue by saying: “Right at this moment of financial peril to the nation is perhaps not the moment to introduce mandatory pay audits.”
Just two years ago, the Liberal Democrat MP backed mandatory measures, saying: “A voluntary audit system for private industry is hardly worth the paper it’s printed on. We need to know when the government actually plans to step in if progress isn’t made.”
The Liberal Democrat manifesto pledged to introduce fair-pay audits for all but the smallest companies.
Today Featherstone said: “It was a different world two years ago – financially and in terms of pressures on business. We are in a completely new landscape now … Much more of partnership working, no longer government dictates, this is absolutely the time to make voluntary pay-reporting work.”
Asked whether the U-turn compared with the government’s controversial decision to abandon the Lib Dems’ manifesto pledge on tuition fees, she said: “You can go back to everything pre-election and say, Liberal Democrats said this and Liberal Democrats said that. Of course, had we won the election there might be a slightly different angle on this. In coalition we agreed this is the way forward.”
Oh well – at least there is some good news.
Still I don’t think pointless audits about invented pay gaps for doing totally different work woudl be nearly as harmful as legalising sex discrimination
Have you bothered reading the comments left by woman on all of the articles relating to your ludicrous sex-discrimination laws?
You are a vile thing.
“The change in the law, designed to address under-representation of certain groups in the workplace, will enable firms to choose women, ethnic minorities or disabled people ahead of EQUALLY QUALIFIED white male, able-bodied applicants without the risk of being sued.”
Could the posters actually explain in what way this is discrimination (other than discriminating against having a massive chip on ones shoulder)? Thought not.
Lynne,
I just wanted to thank you for your support of GMFA’s Count Me In campaign. Despite the huge numbers of gay men affected by HIV in the UK, at GMFA we refuse to believe that HIV infection is inevitable. By committing to the ‘Count Me In’ pledges, everyone can make a real difference. We know it won’t always be easy. It can be challenging to deal with issues such as self-esteem, or to break down the fear many people have around testing. However, we hope that by raising these issues and by providing the right information to support gay men (and everyone else affected by HIV), we can make a real difference. If anyone reading this is interested, more details about the Count Me In campaign can be found at http://www.facebook.com/gmfa.uk.
With best wishes,
Matthew
Shame on you, Lynne, for backing down on your pre-election pledge for the sake of keeping your ministerial job. I knew you were likely but it always stinks that little bit more when you see it in black and white on the BBC website. You’ve just lost a household of 5 voters, including my younger brother who will be in the first year of students to “benefit” from your £9000/year fees (he says thanks very much – he feels pretty blessed…) Congratulations on keeping your job though – it would have been a tough time giving up that extra salary during the tail end of a recession, wouldn’t it….