LGBT+ Address Scottish Liberal Democrats Conference 2015

Below is my recent speech to Scottish Liberal Democrat conference:

Conference I would like to begin by thanking you. All those years ago you took a heroic step in backing that edgy Liberal Youth Scotland motion supporting that then radical concept of equal marriage. This made the Scottish Liberal Democrats the first party in the UK to back equal marriage. In the five years that have followed equal marriage has became slightly less of a niche idea. Because of you conference, couples across Britain can stand up in front of their families,  friends and communities, safe in the knowledge that their relationships are valued by the state just as much as anyone else's. Thank you conference!

Now some people tell me that because we have same sex marriage we are now all equal. But conference I am angry. I am angry that nearly 70% of LGBT young people fare bullying in school.  I am angry that one in ten leave education because of homophobia or transphobia. I am angry that 40% suffer from mental health problems, far more than their “straight” counterparts. I am angry that the transgender community continue to be marginalised and stigmatised by the health system which is supposed to care for them. Conference I am that I cannot walk down the street holding my partners hand without facing homophobic abuse and insults. Conference I am angry that LGBT domestic abuse victims are sidelined due to tired stereotypes. And conference I am angry, no I am livid, that over half of all LGBT young people have self harmed. This is no equality I recognise.

Now conference we have some fantastic policies concerning LGBT issues but we can go much further.

Let's take the blood ban for example. We led the way by calling for a review of the blanket ban on  gay men giving blood. We have succeeded in reducing the limit to six months. But this is simply not good enough. Why a should a gay man in a steady monogamous relationship be stopped from donating while a straight man who sleeps with multiple partners and doesn't use protection be allowed to. This isn't science, its prejudice plain and simple.

We must tackle homophobic bullying. All schools should have clear anti discrimination policies.  All school staff should be trained in LGBT issues. And LGBT health and history should be embedded in the curriculum for excellence.

Conference we've come a long way but we've got so much further to go. We must strive towards a society where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people no longer live in fear, no longer are forced to deny who they are and are no longer made to feel different.

A load of nonsense

Today teaching unions and headteachers across England and Wales branded school league tables 'a nonsense'. I couldn't agree more. One of the most destructive aspects of Michael Gove's tenure at the department of education was the idea of "toughening education standards" and the promotion of certain subjects above others. It's all vere well making exams harder and prioritising academic subjects if you are already coping with the system but the truth is many pupils struggle with more academic subjects and many jobs do not require them. The new league table system demears vocational subjects, ignores informal education and incentives schools to leave those already struggling behind in order to concentrate on those of the cusp of gaining certain qualifications.

Thankfully we haven't seen this attitude to the same extent from the Scottish Government but there are signs this might be changing. Ex education secretary Mike Russell branded some college courses nothing more than "hobby courses", in the college 'modernisation programme' (translate as centralisation and brutal cuts) many courses simply disappeared, informal education faces a highly uncertain future with many local authorities facing massive budget cuts and the Scottish Government has started to charge for exam appeals (helping those already coping with the system and unfairly advantaging private and rich state schools).

Instead of "toughening' education we need a fundamental change of attitude. The current system fails too many people, particularly the less academically able and those on low incomes. Informal education and youth work deserve far greater recognition and arbitrary tables should be shown the door. We've seen some positive moves with curriculum for excellence and the pupil premium down south but it simply isn't enough. Less talk of 'dumbing down' and more talk of inclusive education.