Politics

This weekend, 27 young people aged 16 – 21 were trained by Stonewall to run their own campaigns in their local communities to tackle homophobia and homophobic bullying in schools.

The V-funded training weekend took place in Buckinghamshire and young people came from all over the country to participate. The weekend consisted of campaign workshops, public speaking coaching and team building games.

Laurie Kay, Stonewall’s Youth Co-ordinator, said: ‘The young people love these special training weekends. It gives them the chance to really get involved with Stonewall’s campaign to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. They also get to meet other people their age who are keen to campaign for an end to homophobia. There were a few tears when people said goodbye at the end of the weekend, though!’

Read more: Stonewall runs training weekend for youth volunteers

Brendon Riley, Chief Executive Officer of IBM UK, and Vice Admiral Alan Massey Second Sea Lord, Royal Navy both used their keynote speeches to call on employers keep focused on workplace equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff at Stonewall’s workplace conference, supported by Barclays.

Vice Admiral Alan Massey Second Sea Lord, Royal Navy said ‘Changing behaviours takes some time. Changing the underlying attitudes and culture takes a whole lot longer. The continued engagement of the LGBT community is vitally important to us to ensure that it becomes an embedded part of our business, a fundamental part of a fair leadership culture.’

Antony Grey Jenkins, Chief Executive of Global Retail Banking, Barclays said ‘Organisations that focus on diversity tend to be higher performing organisations than those that don’t. People take their lead from what they see around them. Creating a workplace where all colleagues are able to be themselves is absolutely critical to the overall wellbeing of any business.’

Read more: Diversity Essential for all Businesses, Employers Told

Plaid Cymru this weekend launched a new affiliate organisation PlaidPride which will be the party’s new group for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people.

The aim of the group is to Spread Plaid Cymru’s message to the LGBT community; reach out to LGBT party members and to continue to ensure that Plaid Cymru policies address the needs of LGBT people across all parts of Wales.

Plaid has a strong record on supporting Gay Rights. The Party voted in favour of the equalisation of the age of consent. Voted in favour of civil partnerships, of adoption rights for Lesbian and Gay couples, and voted for the repeal of section 28. Plaid Cymru is also an organisation where Gay and Lesbian men and women, play a full and active role in the party, at all levels.

Read more: Plaid Cymru Launch LGBT Group

Gay humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust has reacted angrily to the statements made by the Pope concerning his impending visit to the UK.

Referring to the UK's commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society, the Pope has said, "The effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed."

The PTT's secretary, George Broadhead, commented, "This is a thinly veiled attack on the anti-discrimination legislation concerning LGBT people. His claim that our equality laws undermine religious freedom suggests that he supports the right of churches to discriminate in accordance with their religious ethos. He seems to be defending discrimination by religious institutions and demanding that they should be above the law.

Read more: Angry Reaction to Homophobic Pope

Victim Support has, for the first time, been voted one of the 100 most gay-friendly employers in the UK by gay rights charity Stonewall.

The national charity came 92nd overall, climbing 84 places from last year, and is one of only four third sector organisations to make it into the top 100. With its commitment to diversity, the charity is determined to make a similar leap again next year.

Natasha Broomfield-Reid, Victim Support’s Head of Equality and Diversity, said: “Entering Stonewall’s top 100 for the first time shows that we really are putting our diversity statement – ‘Diversity matters and we value it’ - into practice. This is great news for everyone in our charity – both the LGBT staff and volunteers who value working here and everyone who has helped created a positive environment for them. We’re absolutely determined to make it even higher up the list next year and to make similar progress in every other area of diversity.”

Read more: Victim Support Join Gay Friendly Employer List