Edinburgh University Labour Club : Equality and Diversity

Freshers Week September 2005

For those who don’t know me I am a back bench MP and have recently joined the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. I have been an MP since 1997 when I won Ayr constituency from the Tories as the first ever Labour MP and the first ever woman MP for the area. Before that I was a local councillor and worked with Women’s Aid for 16 years and served as their national chairperson. I qualified as a community worker some 25 years ago and worked in the East End of Glasgow and in Ferguslie Park in Paisley where I grew up. I also hold an MSC in Equality and Discrimination which I attained at Strathclyde University on a part time basis. The number of Scottish MPs has been reduced as a result of devolution so the constituency boundaries have changed and at the General Election in May I was elected for the new seat of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, much of which is a former mining community.
So I have always had a strong interest in equality issues particularly as they affect women and particularly in the field of violence against women.
But fundamentally the essence of Labour’s ideology is all about equality encompassed in the values of fairness and social justice. The Labour Party has changed in many ways in recent years but these values remain constant. Every Labour Party membership card bears the following clause of our constitution.
“The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone’ so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many not the few; where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe; and where we live together freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect”

We differ from other parties in that we do not see the market as the driving force of society although it has a part to play. We believe the state should have a strong role in a democratic society and we believe in intervention where appropriate for the greater good. We do not base our philosophy on identity politics seen through an essentially separatist prism with the defining issue of Scottish politics as national identity alone. Because that assumes that  the dividing issue of politics in Scotland will always be Scotland versus Britain or England when most Scottish people see politics in Scotland as more about the NHS, education, housing, employment- the real dividing line issues of fairness and unfairness.

For example from Keir Hardie to John Smith the case for a Scottish Parliament always put at its core the need not just to reflect our identity but also to realise our values. Not what it would be but what it could do. Because what matters most to Labour is not where you live but how you live. A Labour led Scottish Executive will always govern from that perspective

The whole equality and diversity agenda therefore follows from those values which call on us to address immediate and pressing challenges that must be met in the interests of social justice. 
So why does equality matter?

The answer may seem obvious but my experience as an MP tells me it is not obvious to everyone.
For individuals: unfair discrimination is plainly wrong. It stops people realising their potential, and prevents skills and talents being used to good effect.

For service providers and businesses: discrimination in employment has a huge price, beyond the tragic cost to individuals experiencing discrimination. It affects our productivity and profitability. Good employment practice, for example, based on equality and diversity, gives companies a competitive edge.

But most important, for society, and Britain as a whole an equal society that celebrates diversity is a sustainable, cohesive society where communities live together in mutual respect and tolerance. If we don’t see the value of that now we never will.

That is why we want to see an equal, inclusive society where everyone is treated with respect and where there is opportunity for all. Everyone must have the chance to play their part in social and economic life. We need to tackle barriers to participation, and most importantly bring about major culture change in our economic, social and political life.

This is no mean task and cannot be considered outwith the context of a background of institutional discrimination in the public sphere and domination and oppression in the private sphere which went unchecked for generations.

You only need to consider that not so long ago women did not have the vote and a man could beat his wife with a stick as long as it was no thicker than his thumb.

Women have had many years of struggle in the public and private spheres but we have come a long way. We have many women to thank for the sacrifices they made on our behalf and we hope as we bring our children up today in a very different world that they will benefit from our endeavours for a fair and equal planet.

So I don’t claim anything like exclusive credit for the Labour Party on the advances made in the equality agenda. No that has been achieved on the back of movements such as the women’s, anti racism, disability and gay movements, the trade unions, and other social movements which go back a long time. What I do say is that I joined the Labour Party in my youth because I recognised that its values of social justice were mot likely to deliver the equality I wanted to see brought in both in the legislative framework and in promoting social change within our democratic system which is a long term project requiring support at the ballot box. What I will also say is that for almost two decades as a party we could not attract that support and that advances in equality suffered the most horrendous backlash from successive Thatcherite governments with their divisive and reactionary agenda which said there was no such thing as society.

Since I was elected I have not always agreed with everything the Government has done but I am most proud that the Government has been at the forefront of change for equality on gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, race, religion or belief. Now I could rehearse all the measures which have been taken and I will go through some of these if I have time. But let me give you an illustration which shows how social justice and economic measures can be brought together to address inequality.

When I was first elected as the MP for Ayr a woman who was a lone parent came to see me. She had a twelve year old daughter and she worked 23 hours a week. She paid some rent and full Council Tax and she received no benefits other than free prescriptions. She recently moved to a new council house in a better area. She had waited for the house for years. She couldn’t access a social fund loan because she wasn’t on income support. She struggled to set up her new home and was worried sick because she had to go into debt. Mary wanted to work as many women do – in any case we are needed in the workforce. At that time she would have liked to work full time but it would not have been worthwhile – she would actually have lost money. She would actually have been better off if she gave up work. For me Mary’s story sums up all the negative and positive aspects of women who lived in poverty during the Tory years and somehow still managed to survive and do the best they could for their children. Mary was caught in the poverty trap. She did not want to give up work – it was her lifeline often her only adult contact for days. But Mary although she did not see it herself having experienced mental abuse from her ex partner, had enormous potential and a great deal to give if only she had the support and encouragement to do it.

So what has a Labour Government done for women like Mary? We came into Government with the policy of getting people off benefit and in to work with the appropriate childcare support.

Millions of families are benefiting from the new tax credits, child benefit has increased by 25%, the majority of beneficiaries of the National Minimum Wage are women and the new deal for lone parents has helped many into work and education. Well over a million new childcare places have been created with a revolution in funding compared to the days when we has a disgraceful record compared to other European countries. Work now pays for lone parents and others even on a part time basis but just as important they are getting opportunities which just were not available to disadvantaged groups in the 80s and 90s. Of course all children are now entitled to nursery education and measures to help parents choose how they balance work and family life are making good progress. Fundamentally important is that a stable economy has led to the lowest unemployment for decades.

I can cite other examples here we have not only increased opportunity but have had the determination to legislate for equal rights and repealed the Tories overt discrimination against gay people. The UK now has the most comprehensive anti discrimination legislation in Europe and following the biggest review of our equality institutions in the last twenty five years we are now bringing together the current equality bodies for race, gender and disability into a new stronger Commission for Equality and Human Rights. This will crack down on discrimination of all forms and promote equality across the board including in the new areas of age, religion and belief and sexual orientation. 

What worries me is that people do not equate these advances with the Labour Governments and seem to think they appeared from thin air. Worse still some people seem to think that we have got equality. It seems to me, although lets face it I am a bit of a long in the tooth feminist, that young women see the progress we have made not as advances but as completion. As Margaret Thatcher once said ‘The battle for women’s rights has largely been won.’ Coming from her a bit of a laugh anyway even if it was true.

We have a long way to go- the pay gap is still far too wide, women remain under represented in practically every public role, etc  The Labour Government recognises that we still have a lot to do. I’ve touched on some of the things we are still working on – our programme includes

• A Single Equality Act
• Offence of Incitement to Religious Hatred
• Extension of Maternity Leave from 6 to 9 months by 2007 (then 12 months) and flexibility between parents how they use it
• Review of provisions for disabled people joining up services and benefits to achieve a more co-ordinated approach
• Women and Work Commission established to look at ways of closing pay gap – due to report in Autumn
• Civil Partnership Registration Scheme (Dec 2005)

I am proud of our achievements so far but I know it is a long journey. Legislation alone cannot achieve the systematic and cultural changes we need to make equality, diversity core values in our society. But Labour is committed to taking the brave decisions needed to work across society to promote equality.
And we have a great deal to lose if the responsibility for these important issues should fall into other political hands.