Galloway party in gay rights row

Respect's grassroots rebel against alleged deal with anti-gay
Islamists

Respect leadership fails to apologise for excluding gay rights from
election manifesto

London – 22 November 2005

Grassroots members of George Galloway’s left-wing Respect party have
condemned as "unacceptable" the decision of the party leadership to
exclude lesbian and gay rights from their manifesto for the general
election earlier this year.

Respect MP George Galloway is now being asked to explain why his party
dumped gay rights from its manifesto. Allegations abound that
Respect's right-wing Islamist backers demanded the axing of gay rights
as a condition of their electoral support for the party.

At Respect's annual conference on Sunday (20 November), delegates
rebelled against party leaders who vetoed the inclusion of gay
equality in the party's manifesto for the 2005 general election.

The victorious conference resolution 47 stated: "Conference regards it
as unacceptable that our manifesto for the general election did not
contain any reference to the defence of LGBT rights."

From the conference platform, Respect leader Lindsay German, who is
also a senior leader of the Socialist Workers Party, disparaged the
resolution, claiming it had a "hidden agenda" and was moved in "bad
faith".

"Despite the motion being passed by the grassroots membership,
Respect's leaders offered no apology and no assurance that LGBT rights
will be included in future election manifestos," said gay left-wing
human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of OutRage!.

"Respect claims to support LGBT rights but the exclusion of gay rights
from its election manifesto suggests otherwise.

"On the Respect website, gay equality is shunted to the sidelines,
listed semi-anonymously under 'Other policies'. This shows that
Respect regards LGBT rights as a marginal issue of no serious interest
or concern. Equally alarming, the policy section of Respect's website
has no section on women’s rights.

"Respect's disrespect for LGBT people is part of a pattern. One of the
party's top leaders, Lindsay German, notoriously warned that gay
rights are not a 'shibboleth' and should not prevent Respect forging
electoral alliances with homophobic religious fundamentalist groups.

"Respect is in alliance with the right-wing, anti-gay Islamist group,
the Muslim Association of Britain. Respect does not ally with liberal
and left-wing Muslims.

"The MAB endorses the recreation of an Islamic Caliphate where Muslims
would be subjected to the barbarism of Sharia law, which includes the
execution of unchaste women, apostates and gay people.

"Respect has betrayed progressive Muslims, in favour of an alliance
with Islamist conservatives and fundamentalists whose policies on gay
and women’s rights are even more reactionary than those of the
despicable neo-Nazi BNP.

"Respect has failed to defend gay Muslims against fundamentalist
Islamists and it attacks gay rights groups that support Muslim
queers.

"The politics of Respect on LGBT rights is reformist at best. It's
policies are far less radical than those of the Liberal Democrats.
Unlike Respect, the Lib Dems included gay rights in their manifesto,"
said Mr Tatchell.

Further information: Brett Lock OutRage! 0770 843 5917.

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Respect annual conference, 20 November 2005, London

Resolution 47 - Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Transgender (LGBT)
rights – South East Essex supported by Bristol, Lambeth and Sandwell

"Conference regards it as unacceptable that our manifesto for the
general election did not contain any reference to the defence of LGBT
rights despite policy adopted at last year's AGM and contained in the
founding statement. Conference resolves that in future our manifestos
and principal election materials will explicitly defend such rights
and call for an end to all discrimination against lesbians, gay men,
bisexuals and transgender people."

ENDS