New Ambitions for LGBT+LD
The contest for the leadership of the party is not the only internal election we have going on. There is also an upcoming election for a new LGBT+ Liberal Democrats Exec.
Last week I announced that I am running for Chair, with a plan to open up, modernise, and to champion LGBT+ candidates up and down the country. Grounded in my experience as a creative industries entrepreneur and on other Lib Dem campaigns, here are some thoughts on how we can do it.
Opening up LGBT+LD
One of our first objectives needs to be making LGBT+LD feel like a natural home for all LGBT+ members of our party. In a recent diversity survey it was reported that some 18% of our party membership identify as LGBT+ — meaning that there might be some 20,000 would-be-members of LGBT+LD. In reality, the actual number is closer to 200–300.
So what do we do about it? We need to run a serious recruitment campaign across every nation and region. We need to engage other Associate Organisations and Specified Associate Organisations and rope in as many local parties and ambassadors as possible.
Everything we do needs to signal that we are open. That signal isn’t just about what we say when recruiting new members. We need to be an open organisation internally, too. Members — both old and new — need to have a voice in the running of the organisation, and if they’ve got ideas and initiatives then we should empower them (with encouragement, and where practical, training) to pursue them. We need to have an “if you think so, say so” culture. This is especially doable in the era of Zoom. It has never been easily to run have monthly forums or ‘pizza and politics’.
In our engagement — with members and also with other party bodies — we need to be producing real value. For members we need an appealing and diverse range of events and campaigns to join. For LPs and campaigners we need to be providing toolkits, helping coordinate activity around things like Pride or LGBT History Month.
Modernising LGBT+LD
In order to open up, however, and in order to more effectively campaign for LGBT+ rights and representation, we need to modernise. We need a new lick of paint (the website still talks about GE2017 candidates!) , and we need to ensure our systems are professional.
There are lots of things that LGBT+LD has historically done well: its commitment to trans rights in particular sets — and should continue to set — the benchmark for the rest of our party. Modernisation should not and does not mean compromising on our values, or of becoming “acceptable” as some might allege. While we may have some role as the voice of the party into the LGBT+ community, we should more importantly be a strong independent voice calling for the party to be better on LGBT+ issues and representation.
We need to make sure that our policy platform is up to date and responsive. We need to keep up our work in standing up for Trans Rights and we need to keep fighting to scrap the blood ban. But we also need to make sure we have enough hands-on-deck and capacity, so that we are able to respond quickly and thoroughly to unfolding events, and to develop new ideas.
Modernising also means working with the likes of The Campaign for Gender Balance, Lib Dem Women, LDCRE and LDRDC. Our fight for equality and justice must be intersectional, and we must work together to amplify our voices in the party. Reaching out to these bodies should be one of the first acts of a new LGBT+LD exec, followed by then reaching out to wider LGBT+ civil society groups.
Championing LGBT+ candidates
LGBT+LD needs to do much more to champion LGBT+ candidates. That doesn’t just mean updating the website — it means finding them, supporting them, and funding them.
We should learn lessons from the Young Liberals and ‘Young and Winning’, and building a similar package should be a key aim of our fundraising. With a bigger membership and a calendar of fundraising events, we should be ambitious in our goal of supporting as many LGBT+ candidates as possible. If we want progress, we need to have diverse LGBT+ voices elected right across our country.
LGBT+LD can’t wait for change. It needs new voices, new ideas and new ambitions. If you want to be a part of this then join LGBT+LD today.
