This Week: What Are Their Voting Records?

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I don’t tend to talk specific party politics on here very often but the political landscape in the UK has been messier than an episode of Real Housewives (no shade, I love Real Housewives) for quite some time now. With Boris Johnson resigning as the Conservative Leader, his time as Prime Minister is coming to an end and we will have someone new leading the country. I just want to say that I have never voted Conservative and it is highly likely that I never will. I have a persistent mistrust of the Conservative Party. That being said, I think it is important to know what MP's stand for, regardless of whether they are someone you would vote for, especially when they are the party in power.

As I’ve gotten older and become more politically aware, I have found myself getting into the habit of checking the voting records of MP's who are potentially going to be in power or a member of the cabinet, regardless of the party they are affiliated with. Call it a case of ‘know thy enemy’ if you will. When I look at voting records there are certain areas of specific interest which I prioritise and LGBTQ+ rights are obviously going to be right up at the top of that list of importance. I want to know whether or not my rights as a gay man and the rights of this community are safe or whether there could be a potential threat. I think it would be foolhardy and naive to believe that now we have certain rights, they would never be taken away. Recent behaviour from politicians in the USA is all the proof you need that this isn’t the case.

So that is what today's article is about. I’m looking at the current Conservative leadership battle, the individuals in the running and their track record when it comes to voting for or against LGBTQ rights. It should go without saying that LGBTQ+ rights are not the only topic of importance when it comes to politics but it’s usually my starting point. Of course, you can absolutely get this same information from a dozen other articles, but I also feel it is important to get that information out there so the more places we shout about it, the more we ensure it doesn’t get ignored. If you want to find more detail on voting records, I have included a link with each of the MP's names. While only one of these is going to become the Conservative leader and Prime Minister, it is clear that they all have ambitions for the 'top job' and therefore it is worth keeping an eye on them all.

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We will start with who is currently ‘in the lead’. Rishi Sunak topped the last ballot. He has never voted on allowing marriage between two people of the same sex, having been absent for the vote in 2019 which would allow people of the same sex in Northern Ireland to get married which means he has also never voted on equal gay rights, having been absent for two of the opportunities to vote. In addition he as generally voted against laws to promote equality and human rights, chalking up 5 votes against and 2 absences between 2015-2019. In 2016 he voted in favour of repealing the Human Rights Act 1998 and in 2019 he voted against retaining the “Charter of Fundamental Rights”. While this doesn’t present a definitive position when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, his voting record for human n rights doesn’t paint a positive picture. Beyond his voting record, I’ve found it a little difficult to establish exactly what his position on LGBTQ+ rights is.

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Next up is Penny Mordaunt, who came second on the last ballot. She has consistently voted for equal gay rights. Between 2013-2019, she has voted for equal gay rights on 9 opportunities and has never voted against those rights including having voted 7 times for allowing marriage between two people of the same sex. However, she has a mixed voting record when it comes to equality and human rights with 4 votes for, 8 votes against and 2 absences on record. She certainly seems to be on the right side when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, but her votes on equality and human rights are concerning. She also voted against retaining the “Charter of Fundamental Rights”. She served as Equalities Minister between 2018-2019 and oversaw the public consultation on the Gender Recognition Act. At the time, there was strong support for reform to streamline the process but the reform was later scrapped when Liz Truss became Equalities Minister. Mordaunt was considered possibly one of the stronger candidates in terms of championing LGBTQ+ rights but has since spoken of her opposition to ‘trans orthodoxy’. Even more recently, she has stated that never supported 'self-ID' and therefore, the Gender Recognition Act, which sought to allow trans people to self-declare their gender.

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Liz Truss was third in the latest ballot. She has almost always voted for equal gay rights with 8 votes for, 0 votes against and 1 absence from voting. These votes all took place between 2013-2019. In terms of marriage between two same-sex people, she has consistently voted in support with 0 votes against. Like Mordaunt, Truss also voted a mixture of for and against equality and human rights. 3 votes for, 5 votes against and 6 absences. She voted against retaining the “Charter of Fundamental Rights”. As already mentioned, it was during her time as Equalities Minister the Gender Reform Act was scrapped and announced she would not introduce self-identification for trans people. She also oversaw the failure to introduce an outright ban on conversion therapy.

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The voting records become more minimal from the current 4th place runner, Kemi Badenoch as she is relatively new as an MP, entering the house of commons in 2017. She has never voted on equal gay rights, having been absent from both votes in 2019. She has never voted on marriage between two people of the same sex, having been absent from the same votes in 2019. She voted against laws to promote equality and human rights on the single occasion she was present to vote and was absent for 2 other votes. Like all the candidates so far, she has voted against retaining the “Charter of Fundamental Rights”. On top of her voting record, her time as junior equalities minister saw the failed and broken manifesto pledge for an outright ban on conversion therapy. It has been reported that she secretly met with the LGB Alliance who are well known for the fact they campaign against trans rights. It is also alleged that she set up a meeting between an organisation that advocates for conversion therapy and government officials.

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On to Thomas Tugendhat now, another relatively new MP. He has voted for equal gay rights once and been absent once from the votes in 2019. This was also the vote for allowing marriage between two people of the same sex. His record regarding equality and human rights shows 1 vote for, 5 votes against and 1 absence. Chalk up a fifth for another vote against retaining the “Charter of Fundamental Rights” too… He does appear to be more moderate in terms of his views on LGBTQ+ rights and specifically in terms of trans rights he has said during a Sky News interview: “A woman is an adult human female, but that doesn’t mean in any way that trans women have any less respect or any fewer rights. The idea that you can answer this question with a sledgehammer when really what you’re talking about is a very subtle understanding of people’s rights, people’s dignity, and the respect we need for each other, I’m afraid is not true. We must never take away from human dignity, we must never deny the reality of what it is to be a biological woman, but we must also respect people who are in a different gender identity than their body may have afforded them.”  

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Finally, I was writing this while the second ballot was taking place which saw Suella Braverman eliminated. Nevertheless, I’ve kept this bit in because her voting record and general narrative are pretty bad. Braverman is also another relatively new MP since 2015. She voted against allowing marriage between two people of the same sex in 2019, which means she also voted against equal gay rights. She has also consistently voted against equality and human rights with 0 votes for and 7 votes against between 2015-2019 so yes, that means 6 for 6 in terms of voting against retaining the “Charter of Fundamental Rights”. She has been vocal in her anti-trans stance and she has recently stated that gender dysphoria is spreading by ‘social contagion’ in schools. This is another one of those examples of the narrative that was used against gay people in the 80s which led to Section 28.

I have made a point of pointing out each MP's stance on the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This charter appears in conjunction with national and international fundamental rights protection systems, including the European Convention on Human Rights. Whilst we have left the European Union, the European Convention on Human Rights was drafted in 1950 and entered into force in 1953. It was born out of a response to the very worst human rights violations of World War Two and as a response to the growth of Stalinism in Europe. It is there to protect all of our human rights and political freedoms. It is actually considered to be the most effective international treaty for human rights protection! The fact that every MP currently lobbying to be the leader of the Conservative Party and therefore Prime Minister has voted against largely retaining the convention as a result of Brexit is very alarming to me. Regardless of our position with the European Union, why would any MP vote to potentially undo or remove any human rights or political freedoms? Especially rights that are safeguarded by one of the most effective international treaties ever created. That isn’t to say they are about to tear up each and every one of those rights, but it is most certainly something to be aware of and keep a very close eye on as it seems a large amount of the Conservative Party wants to see it happen... I confess, that fact alone raises alarm bells for me, given my persistent mistrust of them.

As it stands and from what it is worth as a non-Conservative Party Member who doesn’t have a say, the voting record is a mixed bag regarding LGBTQ issues. Coupled with the broken manifesto promise to ban conversion therapy (which I’ve spoken about before), a rise in the anti-trans narrative and the wider political discourse of the last few years, I have some serious concerns about the direction in which this government is taking this country and specifically our rights. For me, a general election can’t come soon enough…

Thanks for stopping by and reading.


CONVERSATION

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