Join LGBT+Lib Dems at Harrogate

LGBT+ Lib Dems are easy to find at Harrogate Lib Dem Federal Conference - we are on stall number 33 in the exhibition area.

That's in the middle of the exhibition hall, facing the large Lib Dem Image stall and the refreshments seating area.

Drop by the stall to join us or renew your membership and to pick up a host of LGBT+ resources.

Conference runs 21-23 March 2025 and is open to all Liberal Democrat party members.

On  the Saturday evening LGBT+ Lib Dems host a fringe meeting titled The Next Steps: LGBT+ Rights and the Road Ahead for the Lib Dems. 

That's in Queen's Suite meeting room 5 in the conference centre from 7.45pm-9pm on the Saturday, and we will explore the next steps following the Free To Be Who You Are motion debated earlier in the day, examine health policy, and address key challenges.

On the topic of that motion - here it is:

F9 Free to be Who You Are
Mover: Christine Jardine MP (Spokesperson for Women and Equalities).
Summation: Charley Hasted.

Conference believes that:
i) Everyone should have the freedom to live their lives as who they are, with their fundamental rights protected.
ii) Nobody’s life chances should be limited or determined because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
iii) Fighting for the rights, dignity and freedom of all LGBTQ+ people is inherent in our core beliefs of liberty and equality.
iv) True equality is achieved when individuals are not only free from prejudice and discrimination, but also to fulfil their full potential.

Conference commends the party’s long history of, and reputation for, advancing LGBTQ+ equality, and reaffirms its commitment to continue this proud tradition.

Conference notes with concern that:
A. Too many LGBTQ+ people face prejudice, discrimination and hostility simply because of who they are, with two-thirds in the UK having experienced anti-LGBTQ+ violence or abuse.
B. LGBTQ+ people face deeply entrenched structural inequalities and extra barriers to accessing support throughout many aspects of life, from education to housing and healthcare.
C. Despite progress on public acceptance of most LGBTQ+ people, divisive culture wars set back attitudes, especially when it comes to trans people.
D. Outside the UK, acceptance of LGBTQ+ people is still worryingly low, with 67 countries still criminalising people for being gay.

Conference therefore supports the following policies on LGBTQ+ equality, taken from the spokesperson's paper Free To Be Who You Are:

1. Implement a new LGBTQ+ Action Plan to coordinate cross- government work on delivering LGBTQ+ equality.
2. Give all equalities issues the focus they deserve by creating a dedicated Secretary of State in the Cabinet to lead the Women & Equalities Unit.
3. Tackle anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime by:
a) Ensuring hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people are counted as aggravated offences.
b) Giving the Secretary of State for Women & Equalities a clear mandate to coordinate government work on hate crime.
c) Delivering better training for police on preventing and prosecuting anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime.
4. Enable LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic abuse and hate crime to get the support they need by improving access to specialist 'by and for' support services and making general support services more inclusive through specialised training.
5. End anti-LGBTQ+ abuse in social care by:
a) Commissioning an urgent investigation into anti-LGBTQ+ abuse in social care settings including care homes, with recommendations on how to prevent it.
b) Delivering mandatory training for all care workers on acceptance and the particularities of caring for LGBTQ+ people.
c) Professionalising the care workforce including by creating a national register of care workers, including transparent records of abuse.
6. Call on the Government to publish clear and comprehensive guidance on the use of any single-sex and separate-sex exceptions under the Equality Act, which reaffirms existing laws on protecting people from discrimination on the basis of being trans.
7. Include specific provisions to tackle LGBTQ+ homelessness in a cross-Whitehall plan to end homelessness.
8. Create an education system where all LGBTQ+ pupils can
thrive by:
a) Rolling out a permanent programme to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools in consultation with teachers, school leaders and families.
b) Ensuring pupils can receive age-appropriate, LGBTQ+- inclusive relationship and sex education (RSE).
c) Giving teachers the training and support they need to perform their pastoral and safeguarding duties with care when supporting children who are struggling with issues related to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
9. Tackle disproportionate rates of mental ill-health among the LGBTQ+ community, including through better training for mental healthcare staff and improved access to services.
10. Ban medically unnecessary, non-consensual treatments or surgeries for intersex infants and children.
11. Ensure that all trans and non-binary people have access to the high-quality healthcare they deserve and prioritise tackling unacceptable waiting times by:
a) Expanding the provision of appropriate and timely specialist healthcare through NHS child and adult services for trans and non-binary people.
b) Issuing clear guidance for GPs on prescribing hormones to trans and non-binary adults.
c) Ensuring trans people have access to high-quality healthcare on the same basis we should expect for all patients, with medical decisions made by patients and doctors together, informed by the best possible evidence.
d) Supporting research using international best practice to improve evidence on the safety and efficacy of potential treatments.
12. Push for all integrated care boards in England to immediately remove the requirement for lesbian couples to pay for artificial insemination before accessing NHS-funded IVF services.
13. Establish a national online portal to provide HIV and STI home testing services across England, with a long-term aim to roll out Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) prescriptions on the same portal.
14. Ban all forms of conversion ‘therapies’ and practices.
15. Facilitate another National LGBTQ+ Survey over the course of this Parliament.
16. Reform the gender recognition process to remove the requirement for medical reports, recognise non-binary identities in law, and remove the spousal veto.
17. Improve accessibility of LGBTQ+-focused spaces for d/Deaf or disabled LGBTQ+ people, LGBTQ+ people from ethnic
minority communities and LBT women, ensuring that these spaces are inclusive and cater to the diverse needs of all
18. Stand up for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers by:
a) Ending the culture of disbelief for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in the Home Office, and never refusing an LGBTQ+ applicant on the basis that they could be discreet.
b) Ensuring the UK offers asylum to people fleeing the risk of violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, regardless of their country of origin.
c) Reduce immigration detention to an absolute last resort with a 28-day time limit, recognising that LGBTQ+ detainees face particular risks of violence and abuse.
19. Promote LGBTQ+ rights abroad, including by:
a) Developing a comprehensive strategy for promoting the decriminalisation of homosexuality and advancing LGBTQ+ rights abroad;
b) Hosting a global conference on LGBTQ+ rights in the UK.
20. Consider intersectionality when implementing the aforementioned policies, acknowledging that LGBTQ+ individuals face unique disadvantages and are disproportionately affected by systemic inequalities.
 

Applicability: Federal, except for 3., 4. (lines 44-48), 10. (lines 82-83) and 14.
(line 108), which are England and Wales, and 5. to 9. (lines 49-81) and 11. to
13. (lines 84-107), which are England only.