Conservative Party Conference 2009

David Cameron's closing Speech

Thursday 8th, PM

In David Cameron's closing speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, as well as promising to get tough on the economy and mend broken Britain, he celebrated civil partnerships and alluded to a wider sense of family.

On civil partnerships he said; "lets be clear: not everything Labour did was wrong. Devolution; the minimum wage; civil partnerships, these are good things that we will keep."

When talking about the family, he said: "I believe that a stable, loving home is the most precious thing a child can have....Now I don't live in some fantasy land where every family is happily married with 2.4 kids. Nor am I going to stand here and pretend that family life is always easy."

He added: "But by recognising marriage and civil partnerships in the tax system and abolishing the the couple penalty in the benefits system, we'll help make it that little bit easier."

Cameron's reference to civil partnerships has come after a difficult week for the Conservative leader, as the party's European alliance with the Polish Law and Justice Party has been questioned by gay rights groups, human rights groups and the wider community. For more on whether The Conservative Party Conference was Conference Pride or Tory Shame, click here.

Why should gay people vote conservative?

Wednesday 7th

Andrew Gilliver attended this Tory Party fringe event including guest speaker Ben Summerskill of Stonewall. What follows is an excerpt - click here for the full article

Ruth Davison opened the proceedings by asking three questions:
 - What has stopped gay people voting Conservative in the past?
 - What changes need to made within the party to address this
 - Why is The Conservative party a better option at the next election?

Ruth acknowledged that the perception many people have of the Tories is historically one of an anti-gay culture. She also acknowledged that Section 28 was wrong and that the Conservative benches needed to better represent the LGB community.

"This is more than just a 'hug-a-homo'- moment" she joked, "There is a real willingness to change the party from the inside."

Moving on to why gay people should vote Conservative was the message that gay people are not single issue voters and just as likely to vote on all the other major political issues.

Read the rest of the article >>>

Conference Pride

Tuesday 6th, PM.

Hundreds of people flocked last night to Conference Pride at Spirit Bar on Manchester's Gay Village.

The Conservative LGBT event caused it's fair share of controversy on Canal Street, bringing both gay rights groups and christian evangelicals out to protest. Gay rights protestors reminded the Conservatives of their past anti gay legislation with placards emblazoned with Section 28 (and for some very good video and images check out the g7uk website - Ed.)  It also made national headlines, after Stonewall chief - Ben Summerskill - opted not to speak at the event as scheduled, in protest at the Conservative's alliance in Europe with the Polish Law & Justice Party whose homophobic views have been widely reported.

Inside the event openly gay Conservative Vice Chair Margot James and political blogger Iain Dale were on host duties, and introduced special guest speakers Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs Nick Herbert, Theresa May (Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Shadow Minister for Women) and Sir Nick Partridge from the HIV and AIDS charity Terrence Higgins Trust.

Stonewall's withdrawal from the event was at the forefront of the speeches, Dale criticising them, while James pledged that she was longtime supporter of the gay rights organistion and hoped that the Conservatives and Stonewall could continue to work together.

Nick Herbert noted the welcoming committee outside, and said that they really were "between a rock and hard place", with gay rights groups on one side and christian evangelicals on the other. He highlighted the culture change within the modern Conservatives and stressed that David Cameron's apology for Section 28 was evidence of this.

Herbert said how he welcomed and supported the legislation which meant that he is now in a civil partnership. He told the assorted throng that the Conservative's were dedicated to equality and joked "gay people are not equal, they're better."

Sir Nick Partridge from THT welcomed being at the event, but drew attention to the Conservative's European allies and highlighted that the party would be wise to make clear their stance on equality and discrimination.

Reassuringly, this comment drew cheers from the crowd and support from the speakers.

Andrew Stokes, Chair of Manchester Pride came onstage to introduce a very special guest...would it be David Cameron? George Osbourne perhaps? No, it was that Tory great...disco diva Angie Brown who asked one of the most testing questions of the Conference: "Tories are you ready for the remix?"

Their was another special guest as Conservative Chairman Eric Pickles made a surprise appearance.

If the Conservative's do win the next election with a majority of just one, they would have more LGB members of parliament than labour and the lib dems put together, should that be the case, one would hope that those MP's would be committed to safeguarding and supporting LGBT rights.

The resounding message from inside Conference Pride was that this would be the case, however, the Conservatives still have to convince the protesters outside and many in the LGBT community that the party have changed.

The party will have the chance to do just that, at the Stonewall Fringe event, which will beg the interesting question...Why should gay people vote Conservative?

lgf online will be blogging from the Stonewall event tomorrow. JD

REPORT - Testing Times: HIV in the UK

Andrew Gilliver attended this event and found it resonated with him both personally and proffesionally. The full article is here and what follows is an excerpt.

As a HIV positive gay man who remembers the scary days of the 1980’s ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ campaigns it was very useful to me to attend a Conservative Party Conference Fringe event discussing where the political parties focus should go and what work is being done behind the scenes to improve conditions for people with HIV today in the UK.

It was also good to see Terence Higgins Trust take a stall in the exhibitor’s space at the conference with one of their resources which highlights 25 goals for change in legislation or guidance that could make a great impact on the lives of people with HIV.

At the event Sir Nick Partridge together with representatives of the medical profession and Conservative Party who have been heavily involved in HIV awareness campaigns and who are currently working on implementing UK National Guidelines for HIV Testing discussed why HIV is one of this country’s biggest public health issues and why gay men in particular should be offered more support and access to services.

The Panel:
Sir Nicholas Partridge OBE - Chief Executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Dr Simon Barton -Clinical Director of the Directorate of Genitourinary and HIV Medicine at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital.
Dr. David Bull - Television presenter who was the first person to present a news bulletin about HIV to children and young people on UK TV
Mark Pritchard - Conservative MP for The Wrekin in East Shropshire who has been pro-active in progressing work on HIV both in the UK and overseas.

David Bull began by saying that the Conservative party take the issue of HIV very seriously and that it is an important part of policy.
Simon Barton added that the Conservative party have a rich vein of success in the field of HIV going back to the days of the first HIV (then AIDS) campaigns of the 1980’s.

Read the full article >>>

Equality and Human Rights Commission Fringe Event

After a controversial summer which saw 4 EHRC Commissioners step down (including Stonewall's Ben Summerskill), EHRC Chair Trevor Phillips had to endure another difficult afternoon. Event Chair, Journalist Peter Oborne gave him a rough ride, while Shadow Minister for Justice Eleanor Laing and PPC for Tower Hamlets Tim Archer debated the the future of the EHRC.

The EHRC have played a huge part in the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality since it's creation. However, should the Conservatives gain power next year, it is rumoured that the EHRC will be one of the "quangos" under close scrutiny.

Phillips argued that the EHRC could work under any government: "Someone has to manage equality law and that's us!" and suggested that he didn't think that  the Conservatives would back track on equality.

However, Tim Archer countered saying: "It does matter who is in Number 10 - we need recommendations about what is going on at ground level...we don't need regulators we need do-ers."

Oborne then asked Eleanor Laing whether the Conservatives would be happy to keep Trevor Phillips in office for another three years? Laing praised Phillips work, but cleverly evaded the question, highlighting how far the Conservatives had come on equality: "10 years ago you wouldn't have got a Shadow Minister or Conservative Minister at this meeting speaking positively."

On the all important Equality Bill which would mean greater legal protections for LGBTs, there was also debate. Eleanor Laing said: "It's a good piece of legislation, but it should have stuck to its main premise, now it goes too far and has too many goals." She added that she had supported the original Equality Act and agreed with the creation of the EHRC.

Many equality strands got a lot of airtime over the course of this event, women and people with disabilities inparticular, there were also discussions about race, age and victims of torture. It was disappointing that the only reference to sexual orientation came in Trevor Phillips' rounding up when he was talking through the equality strands the EHRC deal with. He did concede that it was "unfortunate that we hadn't spoken about sexual orientation at more length."

Should the Conservatives win the next general election, hopefully all equality strands will be main agenda items, rather than some - in this case sexual orientation and gender identity - being an afterthought. JD

Getting Britain Working

Monday 5th October
 
Many LGB & T people are selective about the area of work they feel comfortable in choosing. The North West Development Agency has commissioned research which shows that many of us tend to choose more ‘open’ or ‘accepting’ sectors to work in.

Many of us also choose to be self employed or actively seek out LGB & T friendly employers as a result of a negative impact on employment prospects. It has also become common for many people to experience periods of unemployment and feel that we have not always been given the chance to make use of our full skills because of discrimination in the workplace.

This has had a huge impact on a shortage of skills so it comes as interesting news to learn today that The Conservative Party are planning on building a new form of technical schools in every major English city in order to train a new generation of builders, technicians and engineers, as announced today by The Shadow Education Secretary, Michael Gove. Each of the schools for those aged 14 to 19 would be twinned with a university to encourage high-status technical training in a plan developed by the former Conservative education secretary, Lord Baker.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/05/conservatives-plan-1950s-style-technical-schools

The move was heralded by the newly appointed Tory technology tsar Sir James Dyson, the vacuum cleaner tycoon, who has called for Britain to back science and engineering rather than the "thrill" of financial trading. Sir James told the conference that it was vital for Britain to get back to manufacturing again and that the government must do more to support development in the areas of technology and engineering:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/6262749/Conservative-party-conference-Sir-James-Dyson-says-UK-must-ditch-banks-in-favour-of-engineering.html

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne proceeded to introduce his fellow Shadow Cabinet Colleagues who are all charged with ‘Getting Britain Working’ through welfare, education and enterprise reform policies.

Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions Theresa May announced a new plan to use private and voluntary organisations to help young people into jobs with a future, with a pledge that after six months on benefits young people would get further support in seeking employment. She said: "We must intervene earlier. We will refer young people to welfare-to-work advisers after six months. For those people that need the most help, we will refer them to providers immediately, regardless of their age."

Incapacity benefits would be cut by the Tories in a bid to 'get Britain working', claimants would all be assessed on their fitness for work and those who are deemed fit to gain employment would lose their benefit and instead be placed on Job Seekers Allowance.

The plans drawn up for the Tories by welfare adviser Lord Freud, a former adviser to the current Government who defected to Mr Cameron last year are similar to Labours approach although The Conservatives claim that they will act faster than the Government.

http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2009/09/Radical_welfare_reform_to_Get_Britain_Working.aspx

Michael Gove said the Tories are focused on helping those born in poor families improve their situation advance up the economic scale. Citing 'A generation betrayed' he added, “The worst education results are in the poorest areas and for The conservative party this is unacceptable.”

We will ensure that the next generation of school leavers have qualifications employers need. Real world skills such as plumbers, architects, engineers etc re-enforcing the notion of technical schools to improve skills.”

David Willetts, the Shadow Universities Secretary added that the recession was hitting young people the hardest and Sayeeda Warsi, the Shadow Community Cohesion Minister, announced a network of job clubs where people would be able to exchange skills and access mutual support. "Local people really want to be part of the solution", she said. "The only way out of this crisis is if we all work together."

Lady Warsi indicated that there where already opportunities, since January Conservative candidates, MPs and councillors have been setting up job clubs across the country to help local people who have lost their jobs in the recession.

http://www.conservatives.com/Campaigns/Get_Britain_Working.aspx

Concluding that Britain is open for business George Osborne made headlines with a pledge to support any new business that sets up in the first two years of a Conservative administration will not have to pay tax on new employees. “Invest, set up business and we will support you” said the Shadow Chancellor.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6862140.ece

Shadow Business Secretary and Tory veteran Ken Clarke, who was dubbed as the Tory’s answer to Peter Mandelson, agreed with earlier comments made by Lord Dyson adding that The Conservatives have previously got 100,000 people back to work during their last term in office with The Enterprise Allowance Scheme. David Cameron said that he had asked Mr Clarke to return to the frontline and pointed out how ironic it was that he used to work for Clarke and now Clarke is working for him, not that  everyone would see it like that.

‘We Must Not Let Britain Down’

The Conservative Leader closed by saying that it was, "...such an important week for us. This time we have a real chance of making a difference." Pleading guilty to the charge of ‘youth, enthusiasm and energy', David Cameron added that what had been outlined today was "The biggest programme to ‘Get Britain Working’ this country has ever seen."

On closing Mr Cameron said that what united the team assembled on the platform was the desire to help the poorest in society.

Four years ago at his conference debut, then as Shadow Education Secretary, David Cameron said, "We can change this party and we can change this country."

Now it is time for Mr Cameron to convince the voting public that the party really has changed. AG

Conservative Friends of Poland

Monday 5th October
 
Over the weekend one of the big issues to face the Conservative Party has been their stance on Europe and what has been noted in the past as the graveyard of past Tory leaders could overshadow David Cameron’s star at this conference.
 
For the LGB & T community links with far right allies on the continent who oppose gay rights are a big problem.
 
David Cameron has faced widespread alarm over the parties alliance with controversial Polish politician Michal Kaminski of the Polish Law & Justice party which has campaigned against gay rights. Mr Kaminski is in Manchester this week and is expected to speak at the conference today.
 
Only yesterday in The Independent former Conservative MEP Edward McMillan - Scott said that Mr Cameron was badly advised for the newly formed  European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group to make links with MEPs with extreme links such as Kaminski.
 
Over the next few days I shall be trying to talk to people about their opinions on how Conservative MP’s and M.E.P’s can do their bit along with colleagues from other parties to support our gay brothers and sisters across the whole of Europe.
 
It was interesting that one of the most friendly people I met yesterday was a Polish journalist named Alicja Borkowska who writes for The Polish Observer which focuses on news relating to the life of EU citizens in the UK, telling the stories of ordinary people and giving practical information to make life easier for those not born in the UK.
 
Alicja who has lived and worked in the UK and other countries for many years, is very hopeful that despite what seems to be a fear of showing any sign of support for gay rights in her homeland because of the close links the Polish government has with the church, that it is much of the populations wish to have a more accepting state of affairs for LGB & T people in Poland.
 
Only time will tell but I will be making regular contact with Alicja to see what she can do to help tell LGB & T stories in the newspaper and what news she has to report on the progress for gay rights in Poland . AG
 
Conservative Friends of Poland 

How will the Conservatives meet the human rights challenges of the 21st Century?

Monday, October 5, PM

The human rights organisation Amnesty International co-sponsored this event with the Conservative Human Rights Commission, as Amnesty highlighted what their priorities were for the next government, and the Conservative Party responded by saying what they would do should they gain power at the next General Election.

Amnesty stressed the importance of strengthening and supporting the European Union's work on human rights, building more human rights provisions into the G20 agreement, and promoting the United Nation convention on human rights.

They warned that human rights, not finance must be central to any foreign policy, highlighting abuses committed by big businesses and stressed that the International Framework of Standards must be adhered to.

Amnesty highlighted that the new human rights agenda must be fair and delivered for all.

David Lidington the Shadow Foreign Affairs Ministers highlighted that Conservative Foreign Policy would be about protecting UK interest and the promotion and defence of human rights. He said that it was important for the UK to keep our own house in order and had to raise human rights issues with other countries, including our "allies". So hopefully that's an indication that Mr Lidington will be questioning the Conservative's Polish and Latvian allies in Europe on their human rights records which include allegations of homophobia and anti semitism.

The foreign policy debate was opened to the floor, and discussion took place on the atrocities in Sri Lanka, immigration and asylum policy, legislation surrounding the victims and perpetrators of torture and domestic human rights.

It was disappointing not to hear any direct mention of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans human rights, especially after reports in the last two weeks of a man being charged with the murder and "corrective rape" of a lesbian in South Africa and after a gay march was banned in Belgrade after police and authorities could not ensure the safety of marchers from right wing organisations. JD

Getting more women into parliament and public life.

Monday, 5 October, PM

This afternoon's Fringe event was chaired by Baroness Morris of Bolton, who led a high flying panel which included: the openly gay Vice Chair of the Conservative's Margot James, the Rt. Hon Theresa May MP, Sonia Brown from the National Black Women's Network and Mary-Ann Stephenson from the Women's National Commission. The topic up for discussion was getting more women into parliament and public life.

The panel spoke of their own experiences and battles of getting into public office, and had a few tips for the many Prospective Party Candidates in the crowd.

When introducing Margot James candidate for Stourbridge , Baroness Bolton referred to her as a "breath of fresh air" and said that James' interest in the party was an indication that the Conservatives were going in the right direction.

James said that she asked her partner Jay Hunt what she would say to women thinking of going into public office, having spent so much time with a woman in public office, she replied: "You must be ready at all times, it's hard work with very little payback, and no one sees your hard work!"

A tad pessimistic perhaps, but it didn't damped the spirits of the predominantly female fringe crowd.

The panel took questions on a range of subjects. The topic of women only shortlists for parliamentary candidates divided the panel and the crowd. James was opposed, as was Sonia Brown who said she'd be insulted to be picked to make up the quota, rather than on her talents and experience. While Mary-Ann Stephenson was in favour, conceding that all too often they were a necessity to get women into parliament. There were "here here's" from the crowd in both directions. No doubt this discussion will be further exacerbated as the Equality Bill works its way through the House of Commons and Lords.

Theresa May left early due media commitments, but not before pointing out that the UK lagged behind both Iraq and Rwanda in terms of female political representation.

This fringe event went some way to exploding the myth that Conservative women stand in the way of other women achieving, all the women on the panel and many in the audience paid tribute to female mentors who had encouraged them to get into politics, there were also shout outs for the many supportive and enlightened men in the party.

The resounding message was, encourage women you know to get involved and use their talents to help communities, give political representation and empower women the world over. JD

Getting Britain Working

Monday 5th October
 
Many LGB & T people are selective about the area of work they feel comfortable in choosing. The North West Development Agency has commissioned research which shows that many of us tend to choose more ‘open’ or ‘accepting’ sectors to work in.

Many of us also choose to be self employed or actively seek out LGB & T friendly employers as a result of a negative impact on employment prospects .  It has also become common for many people to experience  periods of unemployment and  feel that we have not always been  given the chance to make use of our full skills because of  discrimination in the workplace.

This has had a huge impact on a shortage of skills so it comes as interesting news to learn today that The Conservative Party are planning on building a new form of technical schools in every major English city in order to train a new generation of builders, technicians and engineers, as announced today  by The Shadow Education Secretary , Michael Gove. Each of the schools for those aged 14 to 19 would be twinned with a university to encourage high-status technical training in a plan developed by the former Conservative education secretary, Lord Baker.
 

The move was heralded by the newly appointed Tory technology tsar Sir James Dyson, the vacuum cleaner tycoon,  who has called for Britain to back science and engineering rather than the "thrill" of financial trading. Sir James told the conference that it was vital for Britain to get back to manufacturing again and that the government must do more to support development in the areas of technology and engineering.
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/6262749/Conservative-party-conference-Sir-James-Dyson-says-UK-must-ditch-banks-in-favour-of-engineering.html

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne proceeded to introduce his fellow Shadow Cabinet Colleagues who are all charged with ‘Getting Britain Working’  through welfare, education and enterprise reform policies.
 
Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions Theresa May announced a new plan to use private and voluntary organisations to help young people into jobs with a future, with a pledge that after six months on benefits young people would get further support in seeking employment.

She said: "We must intervene earlier. We will refer young people to welfare-to-work advisers after six months. For those people that need the most help, we will refer them to providers immediately, regardless of their age."

Incapacity benefits would be cut by the Tories in a bid to "get Britain working', claimants would all be assessed on their fitness for work and those who are deemed fit to gain employment would lose their benefit and instead be placed on Job Seekers allowance.
 
The plans drawn up for the Tories by welfare adviser Lord Freud, a former adviser to the current Government who defected to Mr Cameron last year are similar to Labour's approach although The Conservatives claim that they will act faster than the Government.
 
http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2009/09/Radical_welfare_reform_to_Get_Britain_Working.aspx
 
Michael Gove said the Tories are focused on helping those born in poor families improve their situation advance up the economic scale citing ‘A generation betrayed ‘ he added “The worst education results are in the poorest areas and for The Conservative Party this is unacceptable...We will ensure that the next generation of school leavers have qualifications employers need. Real world skills such as plumbers, architects, engineers etc re-enforcing the notion of technical schools to improve skills."
 
David Willetts, the Shadow Universities Secretary added that the recession was hitting young people the hardest and Sayeeda Warsi, the Shadow Community Cohesion Minister, announced a network of job clubs where people would be able to exchange skills and access mutual support. "Local people really want to be part of the solution," she said. "The only way out of this crisis is if we all work together."

Lady Warsi indicated that there where already opportunities, since January Conservative candidates, MPs and councillors have been setting up job clubs across the country to help local people who have lost their jobs in the recession.
 
http://www.conservatives.com/Campaigns/Get_Britain_Working.aspx
 
Concluding that Britain is open for business George Osborne made headlines with a pledge to support any new business that sets up in the first two years of a Conservative administration,pledging they will not have to pay tax on new employees. “Invest, set up business and we will support you” said the Shadow Chancellor.


Shadow Business Secretary and Tory veteran Ken Clarke who was dubbed as  the Tory’s answer to Peter Mandelson, agreed with earlier comments made by Lord Dyson adding that The Conservatives have previously got 100,000 people back to work during their last term in office with The Enterprise Allowance Scheme.

David Cameron said that he had asked Mr Clarke to return to the frontline and pointed out how ironic it was that he used to work for Clarke and now Clarke is working for him.
 
‘We Must Not Let Britain Down’

The Conservative Leader closed by saying that it was ‘such an important week for us. This time we have a real chance of making a difference.”

Pleading guilty to the charge of ‘youth, enthusiasm and energy' David Cameron added that what had been outlined today was ‘The biggest programme to ‘Get Britain Working’ this country has ever seen.”

On closing Mr Cameron said that what united the team assembled on the platform was the desire to help the poorest in society.
Four years ago at his conference debut, then as Shadow Education Secretary, David Cameron said ‘ We can change this party and we can change this country.”

Now it is time for Mr Cameron to convince the voting public that the party really has changed. AG

Conservative Party Head to Manchester

Thanks to Mark Eastwood in Bournemouth and Bev Craig and Kevin Peel in Brighton we have been able to keep up to speed on what has been happening at both the Liberal Democrat and Labour Party Conferences over the last few weeks.

As of Monday (October 5) the focus is on Manchester and as this is our home turf as it were, the Lesbian & Gay Foundation will be covering the Conservative Party Conference with LGF online regulars Joanne Dunning and Andrew Gilliver.

The Conservative Party Conference is the last before the General Election – and they say "it’s a chance for us to show we have the right values, the right team and the right ideas for Britain’s future."

Currently we are trying to make sure we cover as many of the events as possible from an LGB&T perspective.

There are many interesting events to cover from a wide range of organisations such as Amnesty International, Stonewall, Equality & Human Rights Commission as well as the main party spokespeople.

Among the topics up for discussion we will be looking at: Women’s issues, HIV, LGB & T rights abroad, social justice, immigration, Conservative priorities in Europe, and why should gay people vote conservative?

One of this year's events is Conference Pride, an event at Spirit Bar (Canal Street) in the heart of Manchester’s Gay Village on Tuesday October 6.

Political blogger, Ian Dale and Vice Chair of the Conservative Party Margot James will host the event.

Conference Pride provides the Conservative Party with the perfect opportunity to canvas the pink vote, but what will they have to say for themselves?

Find out here on LGF Online, with daily updates from the Conservative Party Conference.