David Lepper

Labour Party | Brighton Pavilion

The General Election and the LGBT Agenda

David Lepper – Labour and Co-operative Party Candidate, BrightonPavilion

19th April 2005

I am sorry that because of a hustings meeting for Brighton Pavilion candidates at Varndean College on Wednesday evening to which I was already committed I can’t be at the Spectrum - LGBT Community event at the Old Market Centre.

As promised I am sending this summary of my work in Parliament to take forward the LGBT agenda.

Of course there has also been local work I have undertaken on behalf of individual constituents or lobbying on half of local representative organizations.

I am pleased to be one the MPs listed by Stonewall recently as giving 100% support on equalities issues.

I have supported the equalisation of the age of consent, the rights of lesbian and gay service personnel, the immigration rights of same sex couples, the reform of the Sexual Offences Act and the Home Office funding to fight homophobia and the inclusion of homophobic attacks within the definition of hate crime.

After being elected to Parliament in 1997 I worked closely with Stonewall on the Repeal of Section 28 speaking at Stonewall meetings in Westminster and here in Brighton. It was good, therefore, to be part of the Committee of MPs dealing with the 2003 Local Government Bill which was able to successfully ensure that repeal was included in that Bill when it became an Act and to speak in the Commons on the issue.

In the first term of the Labour government I had been one of the sponsors of the Private Members Bill by Jane Griffiths on Civil Partnerships. I was sorry that Bill did not succeed in getting through all of its stages in Parliament but welcome the fact that the government eventually introduced its own Civil Partnerships Act. When that Bill was going through Parliament I lobbied with Des Turner for equalisation of pension rights for civil partners and am pleased that this year’s Budget includes proposals to equalize financial arrangements between same sex couples. It was good to take part in the celebrations last summer of the leading role which Brighton and Hove City Council is taking to prepare for the legislation coming into force.

In the autumn of 2001 I went with some constituents to see the then law Minster Rosie Winterton to ask for action to be taken on the legal rights of transgender people. This followed representations I had made on a variety of legal issues for constituents affected by the out-dated legislation.

I believe that this was one of the factors which helped to revive this issue on the government’ s agenda and led to the Gender Act in 2004.

I look forward to continuing to work when re-elected on behalf of my LGBT constituents and with those organization taking forward the equalities agenda.

I support Labour’s Manifesto commitment to "establish a Commission on Equality and Human Rights to promote equality for all, tackle discrimination and introduce a Single Equality Act to modernize and simplify equalities legislation.”