Labour movement conference mooted
Socialist Organiser1982 1982-08-12Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 10 →
Read from the scan by machine and not corrected: expect misread words, and now and then a caption or a line from a neighbouring story. For anything you quote, read the scan.
Scan page 10
ABOUT 60 people, almost all men, attended the Labour Campaign for Gay Rights national conference and AGM in Nottingham on July 24.
The day was mostly taken up with discussing the problems of being gay in the Labour Party and trade unions and the current Labour Party position on gay rights.
The discussions on being gay in the labour movement raised several problems. There is the selfoppressive argument that there are too many other important issues that need to be taken up at the present, so it seems petty to insist that the 'trivial" issue of gay rights is discussed.
In some Labour Party branches motions on gay righis will be accepted but members will be unwilling to discuss the issue further or take any practical action.
We discussed the LCGR newsletter Gay Socialist, which is supposed to appear quarterly but which has only appeared twice in over year. Despite practical problems we felt that a regular newsletter was important for keeping Contact: Labour Campaign for Gay Rights, c/o 61a Bloom Street, Manchester M1 the membership informed and for giving us ideas to suggest for practical action.
The discussion on the current Labour Party position on gay rights centred on the recent NEC decision to include a proposal for reduction of the age of consent for gay men from 21 to 18 (see separate item from LCGR).
There was a proposal to organise a large labour movement conference on gay rights on the model of the Labour Abortion Rights Campaign and Labour Committee . On Ireland/Committee for Withdrawal from Ireland conferences. This is to be further examined.
We agreed to try to get more material in left and trade union journals explaining why the Labour Party and trade unions need to campaign seriously for gay rights.
Finally we agreed to join the growing campaign against the witch-hunt in the Labour Party by refusing to register with the NEC's "Register of Nonaffiliated Organisations" and to join the Unregistered Alliance. don me. tha this private mal I've just seen the pap of Isling ton Council's declaring that they willnot grants to organisatione that on the grO • or sexual oriente tion. That's very good. We need to make sure that toe:? employer does that The Defend Judith Williams Campaign can be contacted at 123 Greencroft Gardens, London NW6 ЗРЕ. You can get literature, petition forms, pink cards to send to Care Concern and posters from this address.