The first day of the Green Party conference in Finchley yesterday adopted a new policy supporting the availability of civil partnership and marriage to all couples, regardless of sexual orientation and I spoke in support of the motion supporting an amendment. The new policy gives full equality to heterosexual couples who could now under Green Party policy have a civil partnership instead.
I entered into a civil partnership several years ago with my partner at Southwark Town Hall and it is only fair that heterosexual couples also have the right to civil partnerships as LGBT couples have the right to marriage. As I said to someone recently, when Portugal which is a conservative minded Catholic country can legalise gay marriage, as it did this year, what is stopping the UK. The Labour government trumpets its policies on LGBT issues, yet has been unwilling to introduce this basic equal right.
As I said at the debate yesterday, I will be very proud as a gay man to go to the launch of the Green Party's LGBT manifesto next week in Brighton able to say that our party now has the most progressive policy on LGBT rights in this general election..
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