Brighton and Hove LGBT Greens' 15 Election Pledges to the Local Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgend 16 Mar 2007

Introducing the Green LGBT Manifesto, Phelim Mac Cafferty, spokesperson for the Brighton and Hove LGBT Green Party Group, said, "We pride ourselves on being the only local party standing in the upcoming council elections in Brighton and Hove to produce a comprehensive 15 point manifesto for LGBT people.

"We've done this because we care passionately about the quality of life in our city for the LGBT communities. We hope LGBT people can see what a Green vote means in the 3rd May city council elections which are so important for the future direction of Brighton and Hove, renowned as the 'gay' capital of England."

The Green Party in Brighton and Hove has a proud history of standing up for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities.

We are the first and only major party in the UK to argue for full equal recognition of marriage for same sex partners.

We were invited to give evidence at a recent High Court case in support of a lesbian couple's right to have their Canadian marriage recognised in the UK. Civil partnership, while welcome, is not a substitute for full marriage equality.

We have also been heavily involved in the campaign against 'Murder Music' (songs which incite violence against women and gay men) and the impact of the civil partnership legislation on poorer LGBT people.

We strongly believe that the basic rights to decent housing and food, healthcare, education, efficient public transport and public services, must be delivered as equally to the LGBT communities as they are to everyone else.

We believe the best way to defeat the bigots who seek to attack us and our communities is to deliver the most powerful vote for the Green Party in the local elections on May 3rd

OUR 15 PLEDGES TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY

The Green Party's 15 pledges to the city's LGBT communities ahead of the May 2007 city council elections are:

• Build on the Green-led campaign against the 30% cuts to the HIV/Aids budget to ensure that the special needs and profile of Brighton and Hove are recognised by NHS budget commissioners.
  
• Campaign for increased supported housing for those in vulnerable situations - whether homeless, poorly-housed or suffering harassment or domestic violence.
  
• Increase the council's grants to community and voluntary sector groups by 5%
  
• Encourage the city's record stores to remove all hate or 'murder' music.
  
• Ensure the effective targeting of social care, housing and health services - including HIV/Aids support and mental health services - to all members of the LGBT community who need it.
  
• Raise the profile of the needs of older LGBT people. This would also benefit the whole LGBT community, through developing community belief in our own future.
  
• Greens pledge to send all education workers guidance on their responsibilities to ensure LGBT pupils are protected from bullying.
  
• Provide head teachers with training on how to create safe and inclusive environments for LGBT staff and students.
  
• Ensure LGBT issues are monitored in all teaching recruitment.
  
• Reinstate back to full-time the schools anti-bullying officer cut by 40% in hours by the Council's Labour-LibDem budget.
  
• Ensure that all schools include LGBT issues in their equal opportunities and anti-bullying policies and procedures.
  
• Invest (with the police and other crime-prevention agencies) in specific research into hate crime prevalence and perceptions of safety within the LGBT community so that hate crime trends reduce.
  
• Prioritise the protection of council staff from homophobic bullying and other prejudice-fuelled harassment through accepting