Fighting for Gay Rights N the Labour Movement

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To join or affiliate, write to Chris Richardson, 21 Devonshire Promenade, Lenton, Nottingham NG7 2DS. £5 for individuals, or for affiliated organisations, per 1000 members. £2 for low-wagedaindividuals. £1 for unwaged. Add 50p if you want the Campaign for Gay Rights special issue of Gay Socialist. ICI LABOUR Campaign for Gay Rights (LCGR) first came to the attention of the mass of people in the labour movement through press coverage given to our fringe meeting at the Labour Party's 1982 Conference.

Before that well-publicised event LCGR had a rather low profile in the labour movement. The reason for this is that, as a campaigning group we only really started in 1981.

It was during that year that the existing gay group in the Labour Party decided at its AGM to become a more broadly based campaigning group within the labour movement, instead of concentrating winning the support of the Parliamentary Labour Party in the hope that we might 'catch a few crumbs from the rich man's table' That is how it was described to me).

To a certain extent, I believe that I can say we have succeeded in our principal aims, which are to focus the attention of the labour movement on discrimination against lesbians and gay men and to promote campaigns around our cause.

Our membership is now over 200 and growing, including individual members as well as various Labour Party branches. A Gay Young Socialists group has also been formed and has reasonable claim to being the fastest growing gay group in the country.

Indeed, such has been the reaction to last autumn's meeting in Blackpool that we found some Labour Party branches have already discussed gay rights without any prompting from us.

(Labour Campaign Rights)

But it has not been all roses. There have also been some thorns and a load of dung -and it hasn't all come from the right wing of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions!

The Militant Tendency, for instance, has a deplorable 'line' on gay rights. Unfortunately, they don't only oppose us with turned backs or ill-informed argument. Sometimes their opposition takes on a more ugly form.

At the recent Labour Party Young Socialists conference at Bridlington, for instance, we were told that GYS members had to suffer 'verbal abuse and threats of violence' • However, GYS delegates saw this as some form of progress for, in previous years, people who have come out for gay rights have been actually kicked at and spat upon by other delegates at what is recognised as a Militantdominated event.

Talking to some ordinary Militant supporters, however, we have found that they are often embarassed at Militant's official attitude on gay rights. Perhaps Militant will turn out to be susceptible to grass roots pressure after all. •Well, either that, or we'll have to wait for Ted Grant to garotte himself with a badly aimed hand movement, as heirapparent Peter Taffe is said to have a slightly more open mind.

Certainly, at the constituency level in the Labour Party we can say that we have growing and enthusiastic support. And I suppose the very fact that the rights of gay men and lesbian women were mentioned in the Labour Party manifesto is some form of success.

However, some people have chosen to include this extremely limited paper commitment as one of the reasons that the manifesto failed to appeal to the mass of labour voters.

If that is the case then the Labour Party should take a lead in educating people on the issue of sexual politics and not simply drop it as a vote loser' • There is a sizeable gay vote to be won and it cannot have escaped the attention of politically-aware gays that the Labour Party manifesto was the only one to even mention gay rights. What happened to the Liberals, you ask? The SDP, that's what!

LCGR is committed to keeping he tale an the forefront of the attention of gay male and lesbian rights to the Labour Party, which will of course include a major campaign at this year's conference. We will also be active in seeking support at the Trades Union Congress.

The unions are seen as being especially important as there have been a number of cases where gay men and lesbians have been sacked simply for being gay.

A number of unions, such as NALGO and NUPE, have recognised this and have adopted gay rights policies. NAIGO, for instance, actually blacked a company that sacked a gay employee: This goes a long way to helping gay people believe that they are indeed part of a union. Sunday _County SEI. But these unions are the exception rather than the rule. We in LCGR are committed to changing this situation and, indeed, some members have been instrumental in setting up gay groups within their own unions. I, for instance, am currently attempting to form a gay group in the NUJ.

I think it is significant to note that I had thought about starting such a group for some time, but it was only the encouragement and support of my comrades in LCGR that enabled me to actually take the step forward. This highlights one of LCGR's most important functions, that of acting as a support group for gays and lesbians in the labour movement.

for myself, I can say that my comrades in LCGR have transformed my commitment to the cause of socialism from mere talk into something like action. And for that they will always have my gratitude and love.

BRIEFING National meeting Briefing groups July 3,11.30am, Hall, London

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Engineers in British Telecom are on strike over privatisation. From July 4 a new blockade will surround the Cruise missile base-to-be at Greenham Common. We are inviting labour movement organisations to join On July 17 Labour parties, Labour councillors, and trade us in sponsoring the conference, planning it and deciding unionists in London will be meeting at a conference called by Southwark Labour group to begin discussion on resist- The conference will focus on struggles actually underance to new cuts and attacks on local government. way - against privatisation, against missiles, against How fast these struggles will be able to develop and cuts. We will also need to discuss items like: how to rewipe the smirk off the face of the Parliamentary victors, build the Labour Party and organise Labour Party workwe can't tell. But for sure there is an urgent need for dis- place branches; women against the Tories; organising the cussion and planning in the Labour and trade union ranks unemployed and the YTS schemes due to start in Sepon how to get the labour movement in shape for a fight; on tember; rebuilding shop stewards' organisation; rethinkhow to break the treacherous links that sap the move- ing the 'Alternative Economic Strategy'; and many others. ment's strength by tying it at the top to collaboration with If you want to get more details, to sponsor the conferOFFICIAL STRIKE Socialist Organiser no 138 June 30 1983 P*E=

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by Stephen Spurdon