SOCIALISM FIGHT FOR LGBTQ+ RIGHTS - Socialist Party
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UNITE AND FIGHT FOR
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS
FIGHT FOR
SOCIALISM
Socialist Party LGBTQ+ charter
This charter is for discussion and debate about
the demands and organisation we need to fight
for LGBTQ+ liberation.
www.socialistparty.org.uk
LGBTQ+
WORKERS’
CHARTER Autumn 2021
LGBTphobia - discrimination, These issues have been
oppression, harassment and exacerbated during the Covid
bullying of LGBTQ+ people - impacts pandemic. Outrageously, some
the lives of every LGBTQ+ person. services have even recommended
The Tories cannot be trusted to people ‘press pause’ on coming out
end this, or protect our lives or during the pandemic.
livelihoods. Therefore a fightback
is needed. The Socialist Party has • Surveys show that two-thirds
produced this charter to aid the of LGBTQ+ people are afraid of
discussion and debate needed as holding their partner’s hand in
part of building a movement to fight public, or being open about their
for LGBTQ+ liberation. sexuality for fear of a negative
reaction
LGBTQ+ workers and young people
have a proud history of fighting back • More than a quarter of young
against oppression. The Stonewall LGBTQ+ people in education
riots in 1969 saw the LGBTQ+ have experienced verbal
community in New York explode in harassment, insults or forced
anger at police repression and led ‘outings’
to the birth of Pride events.
• Nearly all LGBTQ+ people
Such powerful movements are what experiencing this harassment
have led to the legal improvements do not report it for reasons like
we’ve won, such as the equalisation ‘it happens all the time’, or the
of the age of consent, equal feeling that nothing will change
marriage and other laws that
improve LGBTQ+ rights. • A report from the Trades Union
Congress found that 68% of
But no gain is permanent under LGBTQ+ people have faced
capitalism. And homophobia, biphobia, sexual harassment at work. Of
transphobia and discrimination still these, two in three did not report
exist and affect our lives. it to their employer. A quarter of
those who didn’t report chose • LGBTQ+ asylum seekers face
not to for fear of being ‘outed’ hostility while attempting to flee
persecution. The Home Office
• Young LGBTQ+ people are more demands ‘proof’ of sexuality,
likely to be homeless - making or says that deportation is not
up 24% of the young homeless a risk to people’s safety on the
population basis that they could hide their
sexuality in countries where
• More than half of LGBTQ+ they would otherwise face
people have experienced persecution, discrimination or
depression (with one in seven violence
afraid to seek help for fear of
discrimination)
BUILD A MASS MOVEMENT TO END LGBTQ+ OPPRESSION
In Britain today, austerity and In recent years, issues around
capitalism in crisis threaten the discrimination, particularly
gains won through struggle in the transphobia, have been on the rise.
past. Austerity hits groups already This is not just as a result of the
discriminated against under Tories and their policies, but the
capitalism hardest. failure of the trade union and labour
movement leaders to answer Tory
Since 2010 we’ve seen large numbers lies, cuts and division with mass
of LGBTQ+ services close due to action and a socialist programme.
lack of funding. LGBTQ+ people are
disproportionately more likely to The housing crisis, cuts to
experience mental health issues or homelessness services and
experience homelessness; all areas shelters, cuts to NHS funding
where we are seeing huge cuts. and many of the other austerity
attacks are hitting LGBTQ+ people down of working-class living
sharply. Defeating austerity requires standards. Keeping us divided is
rebuilding working-class struggles. in their interests as it weakens
our ability to fight back. This tactic
The Tories’ lie, that needs to be is what ultimately lies behind the
answered, is that the fight for Tories’ failure to update the Gender
rights and resources in society is Recognition Act (2004) to make
between different groups who face it easier for trans people to self-
discrimination and oppression. identify. The Socialist Party fights for
The truth is that capitalism, the the right to self-identify and for the
system the Tories defend, is based resources and services we all need.
on exploitation and the driving
By building the
struggle against
austerity alongside
other workers and
youth we can defeat
the Tories, their
division, and their
austerity agenda!
That means building
fighting trade unions
and a new mass
workers’ party.
Improving LGBTQ+
rights is an issue
for the trade union
movement because
the unions, as the
main organisations of
the working class, can
and have played a key
role in the fight for the
rights of those who
suffer oppression and
discrimination under
capitalism.
Homophobia and
transphobia have their
roots in class society
and the institutional
inequality inherent to it,
including on gender lines. Capitalism and divides us on the basis of race,
is a system based on the exploitation gender, sexuality, etc.
and division of workers in order to
maximise the profits of a few. That’s because it is the working
class that is the force in society
In Britain and worldwide, a tiny that can get rid of capitalism. Class
group of people own and control exploitation unites workers of all
industry, science and technology - backgrounds. Together we have the
and harness them in order to make potential power to fundamentally
vast fortunes. change this rotten system. Because
of our role in production - we make
Globally, eight people own as things and make things work - and
much wealth as the poorest half of the consciousness of our collective
humanity - the greatest polarisation interests that this can generate,
between rich and poor in human the working class has the potential
history. In Britain, the majority of power to replace capitalism with
us have faced endless austerity, a socialist alternative based on
while a tiny handful are raking it democratic planning to meet the
in. For example, the CEOs of the needs of all.
100 biggest stock-market-listed
companies collect an obscene 73 The Covid-19 pandemic has
times the average wage of their brought misery for the working
workers. class, but it has also revealed our
collective strength. It is essential
Big businesses and banks claim to link the fight against all forms
support with rainbow logos and by of oppression including racism,
sponsoring Pride events. But the sexism, homophobia, biphobia and
major banks and big businesses transphobia, to the fight against
that rush to lead Pride marches class exploitation and capitalism.
and hang rainbow flags are part
and parcel of the capitalist system. The rights the LGBTQ+ community
Many, for example, also invest in have gained have come from
Saudi Arabia where the government decades of struggle. However those
sentences LGBTQ+ people to death. gains and developments can be
They all exploit the working class lost. We don’t want to just struggle
and have an interest in maintaining to keep what we’ve already won, we
any forms of division among us. need to build a mass movement,
not just of LGBTQ+ people but the
Capitalism offers no hope of a wider working class, which moves
decent future for the 99%. It into action. It is only through this
is an unequal, oppressive and that we can fundamentally change
discriminatory system, based on society - fighting for a socialist
exploitation of the working-class change and the end to exploitation,
majority by the tiny capitalist class, oppression and discrimination.
We demand:
PRIDE • That the trade union movement
fights against the discrimination
Born out of the struggles and which remains endemic in our
campaigning of LGBTQ+ people, workplaces
more recently we have seen
Pride events become increasing • Trade unions must organise and
corporatised and step away from campaign for zero-tolerance
their radical roots. A political Pride of bullying, discrimination and
is more important than ever. But an harassment in workplaces,
annual protest is only the start of including schools, colleges and
what we need. universities. This means not
only ensuring that adequate
We call for: procedures are in place for
• Pride events to kick out the dealing with such behaviour,
corporations and organise by but that they are actually
drawing together community implemented in practice.
campaigners, trade unions Training must be available
and all others interested in for all trade union reps
reclaiming Pride and staff. Trade unions to
establish committees in every
• Build a fighting movement with workplace to oversee safety and
a democratic and accountable harassment procedures
leadership to fight for LGBTQ+
rights, participate in movements • Job security. No forced
against austerity, oppression redundancies. End zero-hour
and discrimination and organise contracts which can be used
international solidarity against workers raising issues
of discrimination. Trade union
IN OUR action to fight any job losses
and cuts in the workforce
WORKPLACES
• End low pay. Increase the
Many LGBTQ+ workers face minimum wage to £12 an hour
discrimination, bullying and as a step towards £15
harassment at work. The main
bodies of organised workers - the • Ensure election of equality
trade unions - need to launch fighting officers in trade union branches
campaigns to stand up for LGBTQ+
workers at work and in wider society. • Trade union oversight over the
These are organisations which can recruitment and promotion
put the rights and needs of workers process
first, before the profit or interests of
the bosses.
• Defend the right to protest. healthcare, because resources
Scrap the anti-trade union could be allocated on the basis of
laws and other anti-democratic need not greed.
legislation such as the Police,
Crime, Sentencing and Courts We say:
Bill • Reverse all privatisation and
cuts. Kick big business out of
the NHS. End the postcode
IN HEALTHCARE lottery. Scrap the Private
Finance Initiative (PFI) and
As socialists we fight for democratic cancel all PFI debts
control of society, and that includes
in the health service. This requires • Build a mass campaign for
democratic discussions, bringing massive investment into our
together workers and service NHS - for a fully funded National
users, to develop a plan of what Health Service and care system,
treatment, support and resources free at the point of use
we actually need, not what
capitalists can make a profit from • Scrap prescription charges in
or what the capitalist system can England, and all dental and
‘afford’. We wouldn’t have to fight health charges
tooth and nail for safety measures
like pre-exposure prophylaxis • Invest and expand provision
(PrEP) to be available, or against of gender clinics to meet the
the years-long waiting lists for trans needs of trans people
• Massively expand mental health
support IN EDUCATION
• Nationalise the private Many LGBTQ+ young people deal
healthcare sector, care homes, with the effects of capitalism’s
the medical supply industry and divide and rule at school, with
the pharmaceutical companies - bullying and an unrepresentative
integrate them into the NHS curriculum. We support students
forming students’ unions to be able
• Health services run for health to organise and fight.
not profit. Build and fight for
services that meet all our needs We need:
• Parents, teachers, students
and the trade unions to have
democratic oversight of the
curriculum
• History and gains from the
struggle to be taught. Include
in the curriculum working-
class struggle, LGBTQ+ history
and trade unions’ record
and achievements in fighting
oppression
• A positive curriculum regarding
sexuality and gender identity to
replace the legacy of Section 28
• Students’ unions and education
trade unions must organise and
campaign against LGBTphobic
bullying. Joint committees of
trade unions and students
to oversee and monitor anti-
bullying and harassment
procedures
• All schools to be brought back
under local authority control.
End academisation and free
schools
• Free school meals and travel
• Free education for all - scrap • Shelters for LGBTQ+ people
tuition fees, and write off all fleeing homophobic, biphobic
student debt and transphobic families or
partners
HOUSING, • Protect existing LGBTQ+ venues
SERVICES AND and provide funding to develop
RESOURCES additional venues to meet the
needs of the community
How many LGBTQ+ people have • Cap private rents, for a mass
put up with discrimination in the programme of building council
workplace or bullying bosses houses, no to evictions
because the alternative was
being thrown on the scrapheap
of Universal Credit, facing poverty YOUNG PEOPLE
and eviction? How many LGBTQ+
people have not been able to be • Get organised! Build student
out, or have been forced to live in unions in school, college
unsafe conditions, due to the lack of and universities to fight to
decent housing, or been forced onto end homophobic bullying in
the streets? How many LGBTQ+ education and for young people
services, already stretched, have to have a say. Build Youth
been stripped to the bone by a Fight for Jobs to fight youth
decade of austerity? unemployment
• Oppose cuts and privatisation of • Safe, council-run, well-funded
public services youth centres, youth services
and youth clubs and facilities.
• End enforced poverty - for the Young people need support and
right to decent benefits, no to somewhere to go
sanctions, pensions for all
• Fully fund housing and social
• No imprisonment for crimes of support, and supply council
poverty. Safe communities for homes for LGBTQ+ young
all. Mass investment in jobs and people fleeing abusive living
training situations
• Fully fund vital services for all
including social care, domestic
violence refuges and support,
education, public toilets and the
NHSTRANS RIGHTS BUILD
INTERNATIONAL
It is largely as a result of the
courageous struggle by trans people
SOLIDARITY
that trans oppression is becoming LGBTQ+ people across the globe
more widely understood. But that face murderous anti-LGBTQ+
doesn’t mean there isn’t still a lot regimes and horrific discrimination.
of work to do to end it. Many trans
people experience mental health We say:
issues alongside discrimination and • End the hostile environment -
harassment in the community and end all racist immigration laws.
in workplaces, and when accessing For community and trade union
services including healthcare. oversight of border controls
The Socialist Party stands for the • Grant all refugees and asylum
right to self-identify, including for seekers the right to work
non-binary identities.
• No deportation. End inhumane
We say: ‘proof of sexuality’ by the Home
• Fight to end trans discrimination Office
in law and in society as a whole.
Build a movement to fight for • Close down all detention
legal changes to simplify the centres - these are run by profit-
process of self-identification driven companies that further
exploit detainees and use them
• Invest in expanding all public for cheap labour
health support and other
services for all • Fight for the right to asylum -
including the right of families to
• Build a united struggle to end the be reunited
discrimination and oppression
faced by trans peopleFIGHT FOR dominate the British economy.
SOCIALISM A democratic socialist plan
of production based on the
Ultimately, until we end the rotten interests of the overwhelming
capitalist system, oppression and majority of people would enable
discrimination will be a part of us to use the vast wealth that is
everyday life for millions across there in society to produce what
the world. We need to fight for an we need, not what makes a
alternative, socialism - a system profit for the billionaire bosses
which replaces the bosses, their
divide-and-rule tactics, and quest • No trust in capitalist politicians.
for profit above all else. So that the Join the fight to build a mass
working-class majority is able to democratic workers’ party to
put the vast wealth and resources represent our interests and fight
of society to use, planning society for these demands
democratically to provide what we
need. • The fight for socialism is an
international fight. We support
• Take the wealth off the 1% - we workers moving into action
can’t control what we don’t across the world and show
own. Take into democratic our solidarity to those fighting
public ownership the top 125 for LGBTQ+ rights and against
companies and the banks that capitalism across the worldJoin the fightback
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Issue 1148
WORKING
THE SOCIALIST
CLASS
LOW PA CUTS
Y EFIT
BEN
UNDER
£2.50! S PRIC
EASE E RI
ATTACK
INCR
CES
TAX
THE FIGHTBACK STARTS NOW
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government prove that capitalism
How do we challenge the agenda
squeezed from all sides by an unfor- in crisis.
Rent outside London is rising at of this rotten government and its The unions taking decisive ac-
ADAM HARMSWORTH giving capitalist class. Millions more
its fastest pace in thirteen years. En- capitalist backers?
COVENTRY SOCIALIST PARTY ordinary people will be forced to cut Workers in the health unions have
tion now would empower the work-
ergy prices are about to jump an av-
back spending, eat into savings, and of ers’ movement and win big support
T
erage of £280 per household. These to made an excellent start. Members
he bosses and harsh rises will worry millions
of fall into debt, condemning them Unison, GMB and the Royal College
from youth.
It would pave the way for socialist
the Tories are people across the country, not least
yet more hardship.
And in all this outright theft from
of Nursing have all voted with a big
ideas and a political programme
to
the estimated 2.4 million who have majority to reject the 3% pay insult
putting millions of already faced destitution.
working people, the Tories decide
(see page 5).
raise living standards: rent controls,
to launch a ludicrous ‘Levelling Up’ mass building of council housing,
workers through even At the same time, the Tories are
agenda with a renamed ‘Depart-
This is a crucial moment for the
nationalising the energy companies
launching swathes of attacks on lots trade union leaderships, not just
more hell. The cost of different workers. The rise in Na-
ment for Levelling Up, Housing and
of in the health sector but across
the - a socialist democratic
planned
Communities’ - a name worthy economy where all workers get a de-
of living has soared tional Insurance comes along with movement. They must begin build-
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The Thick Of It! The idea that the cent wage and can live without fear
the end of the furlough scheme, ing a coordinated campaign for
with inflation rising cuts to Universal Credit, an insult-
Tories will help workers ‘level up’ or
at the industrial action now to
force this of poverty.
a raise living standards, while But first, the trade union leader-
to 3.2% - following its ing pay offer to NHS workers, and
same time they take from workers
government back.
ship must lead the fightback, and
pay freeze for millions more public The price rises, economic cha-
highest-ever recorded sector workers.
already being robbed by price hikes,
os, and sharpened attacks by this
show workers that they can win!
is a sick joke.
monthly increase. The working class are being
LABOUR - NOT ON THE SIDE OF WORKERS
FOR SOCIALISTS AND THE FOUR-DAY WEEK ▶▶▶ p2-3
TEN YEARS SINCE OCCUPY: LESSONS ▶▶▶ p14
GENERATION COVID ▶▶▶ p8-9
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