- Conference
- 2007 National LGBT Conference
- Date
- 27 July 2007
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes with alarm that the BNP continue to gain ground around the country following elections held on 3rd May this year.
In these elections the BNP polled 292,911 votes England and Scotland, the highest vote for fascism in British history.
The BNP failed to be elected to the North Wales seat on the Welsh Assemble by just 0.6 per cent.
An unprecedented 744 candidates stood in the English council elections, double the number of the previous year.
The BNP expanded its geographical reach, consolidated its hold on seats and polled a ten-fold increase in votes in the Scottish Parliamentary and Welsh Assembly elections.
The BNP won 10 council seats and lost 9 and whilst the average share of the vote fell from 18 per cent last year to 13.6 per cent, around 1 in 8 voters voted for the BNP.
Conference notes that if the BNP remains unchecked it threatens to take a seat on the London Assembly in next year’s election based on the fact that it came within 0.1 per cent of being elected in 2004. Conference also notes that turn-out may be a factor in the London Assembly elections, with a lower turn-out potentially favouring the BNP.
Conference notes that the BNP is a fascist organisation opposed to LGBT human rights. The BNP have spoken out and campaigned against the introduction of Civil Partnerships, LGBT History Month, the Sexual Orientation Regulations, the repeal of Section 28, the de-criminalisation of homosexuality and the equalisation of the age of consent.
Conference therefore requests the National LGBT Committee to:
1)Continue to actively work with LAGCAR as they organise in the fight against the rise of the BNP;
2)Build links with other Trade Union LGBT groups to develop a united Trade Union LGBT front against the BNP;
3)Strongly advise all members to vote against the BNP in all elections in which they stand, and produce campaigning materials that aim to maximise the anti-BNP turn-out by encouraging members to register to vote and to actively use that vote to defeat the BNP;
4)Actively assist in mobilising all LGBT communities, and all who oppose the BNP, to register to vote and to vote to defeat the BNP in all future elections – including the forthcoming Greater London Authority and European Elections.
Conference urges Regional LGBT Groups to:
A.Keep anti-British National Party (BNP) work as a standing item on the agenda for their meetings;
B.Work with Trades Union Congress Regional LGBT networks on this issue; and,
C.Seek to mobilise support from LGBT UNISON members in their region to direct into particular campaigns.
Conference urges branch LGBT groups to:
I.Work within their branch and alongside the local Trades Union Council to seek to ensure the BNP is challenged head-on wherever they field candidates; and,
II.Seek to mobilise local LGBT communities as a visible component of the opposition to the BNP in their localities.