The LGF

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I had the real pleasure of opening the new LGF (Lesbian and Gay Foundation) Community Resource Centre in Manchester earlier this week – and at the opening launching the Government’s LGB&T action plan.

LGF is now housed in fantastic new premises – and clearly provides a vital heart to serving the LGB&T community in Manchester and beyond. Having met all the staff and volunteers – I was overwhelmed by their warmth and commitment to the community. Congratulations to Paul Martin and everyone there who have made the LGF such a wonderful place and wonderful resource.

The action plan highlights the government’s continued commitment to challenging homophobia, transphobia and inequality in all areas, including: education, the workplace, and across public sector services. You can read it here!

0 thoughts on “The LGF”

  2. Shame the new document highlights tackling homophobia and transphobia but doesn’t touch on biphobia – including that from within the LGT communities. I’d say an LGB&T plan should properly engage with all those strands.

  3. That’s an interesting point Jen. I’d realised that for example a lot of feminists and lesbians tend to be quite transphobic though hadn’t thought about hostility to bi-sexual people.

    Would be interesting to hear more about that issue.

  4. Yes Lynne, any comment on cutting the GPA funding?

    Did you go to the Lib Dem conference last week? If you did, you’ll know that your party is strongly against the NHS ‘reforms’

    But what about Nick Clegg? Look at the way he nodded in agreement with David Cameron at PMQs on Wednesday –

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9425000/9425722.stm?t=4m03s

    By the way, it seems that your colleague Andrew Lansley stands accused of burying an opinion poll showing record satisfaction with NHS.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/19/nhs-andrew-lansley-healthcare-reform

    So are you with the majority of Lib Dem party members, or are you with Nick Clegg and David Cameron?

  5. Lynne
    I am encouraged by the plan that you link, despite the lack of metrics. Processes are fine provided that they lead to ‘effect’.

    I note that there is a clear commitment to fully implement in the UK the Council of Europe’s recommendations ‘Measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity’. Under ‘right to respect for private and family life’, the recommendation is ‘Member states should take appropriate measures to guarantee the full legal recognition of a person’s gender reassignment in all areas of life’. The commitment is to do this by June 2013. A reasonable person would assume that ‘all areas’ includes those that have undergone gender reassignment whilst married and that we now have a date before which the trans marriage problem will be resolved (?).

    On a possibly linked issue, the plan implies that consultation on equal civil marriage will at last commence in July (but such a process is noted as open-ended).