Lesbian Labour were in Liverpool this week handing out leaflets and speaking to delegates at the annual Labour Party Conference. Our concerns include the loss of single sex spaces and provision in public life, which particularly affects us same-sex attracted women.

Unfortunately we were literally and metaphorically left out in the cold given the Labour Party’s refusal to tolerate diversity of opinion over same-sex attraction and single sex services, after refusing stall applications from same-sex champions The LGB Alliance, the feminst charity Filia, as well as the Labour Women’s Declaration. This of course only made us more determined to get our message out there, and with our pop up stall we did!

Hannah and Paula with our pop up stall

Lesbian Labour’s Carol had this to say:

Delegates and visitors to Conference took our leaflets and some stopped for a chat but how much better would it have been to be out of the wind and rain inside Conference for those exchanges. Lesbians fear the loss of our protected rights from Labour’s willingness to accept gender identity instead of sex based rights, we need that dialogue urgently.

She hits the nail on the head in underscoring how serious this is for us. Lesbians really do fear the intentions of Labour to replace our sex based rights with gender based protections. We fear for our freedom and to live our lives free from homophobia. For if we cannot define same-sex attraction in law, we cannot define homophobia. Nor can we prevent or deter it. This is what drives us out to speak to people and this is why will we not rest.