Ahead of the May general elections, Labour has launched its manifesto and included a number of pledges directly related to LGBT rights – including a promise to implement character education in schools to stop "the blight of homophobic bullying".
The manifesto reads: "Children develop and learn best when they are secure and happy. We need to help our children develop the creativity, self-awareness and emotional skills they need to get on in life. We will introduce compulsory age-appropriate sex and relationships education. We will encourage all schools to embed character education across the curriculum, working with schools to stop the blight of homophobic bullying."
The party doesn't just want to see change nationally; it also wants to help LGBT rights abroad too. If elected, Miliband says that he will appoint an International LGBT Rights Envoy, with the ultimate aims being to "promote respect for the human rights of LGBT people, and work towards the decriminalisation of homosexuality worldwide". Sounds good to us.
Labour is also wants to tackle hate crime against LGBT people and ethnic minorities, promising: "We will take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime, such as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We will challenge prejudice before it grows, whether in schools, universities or on social media. And we will strengthen the law on disability, homophobic, and transphobic hate crime."
You can read the full manifesto here. If you're struggling to work out who to vote for, cast your eyes over the Dazed manifesto containing our demands for change in the country.
