Page 20 - Spring 2015

Politicians and the media have made sure that
everyone knows there will be a general election on
7 May and already many people have switched off.
This piece is NOT about politicians, so no need to
turn the page for something more exciting.
But if you wake up on the morning of 8 May and you
didn’t bother voting – after all, they’re all the same,
aren’t they? What’s it got to do with me? We’ve won
our equality now, haven’t we? What does it matter
who makes the laws and directs the economy? Then
don’t blame Britain’s trade unions if you come to
regret not exercising your right to elect our leaders.
This month I’ll be in Manchester on February 15 to
take part in the national festival of LGBT History
organised by LGBT History Month and to discuss
how trade unions came to play such a big part in all
the gains we have won over the last twenty years –
but also why we don’t think that struggle is over.
We haven’t actually got total legal equality yet. If
you’re my age, and thinking about retirement, you
may know that your partner won’t get an equal
survivors’ pension when you die from most public
sector pension schemes. That’s something the
trade unions have been pushing this government
for – but also other parties who may form the next
government.
If you’re at the other end of the age spectrum, you
may be worried about the shortage of housing and
high rental costs, and the impossibility of affording
a mortgage. Housing for LGB and T people can be
extra-challenging if, like so many youngsters, you’ve
left the nest because parents or your community
don’t accept you, and found yourself homeless and
vulnerable. You will have discovered that austerity
policies have reduced significantly your chance of
finding a secure space to stay.
Is anything going to be done about homophobia in
schools and colleges? You’d think that years after this
was recognised as a problem there would have been
a change but surveys still show that the schools that
have solved the problem remain a minority and all
too many schools have become free to set their own
curricula and obviously fail – so the surveys confirm
– to challenge homophobia or transphobia or to train
and support their staff to do this.
The facts tell us that both of these problems –
homophobic bullying and homelessness – mean
that young LGBT people are twice as likely to have
mental health issues and twice as likely to attempt
suicide. These are monstrous statistics that ought to
cause an outcry in a truly equal society. But instead,
the support services that support young LGBTs are
falling victim to cuts resulting from austerity policies.
The survey commissioned by the TUC and published
in 2014 showed that many LGBT voluntary groups
have been forced to reduce services and that 2015
will be even worse. Where will people go now for
support?
Everyone’s seen the headlines about the crisis in the
Election year –
so what?
spring 2015
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