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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.