National LGBT Survey Analysis: Education

Schools, colleges, universities, training centres and other educational establishments should be places where everyone feels safe and supported by staff, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Yet report after report has shown that LGBTQIA+ staff and students do not always feel comfortable being in such settings. The much quoted Stonewall School Report 2017, conducted in partnership with the Centre for Family Research based at Cambridge University highlighted that despite noticeable decreases in overall levels of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools, there is still a worrying prevalence of transphobic language and bullying and lack of awareness of differing gender identities in general. There are a number of shocking statistics that stood out: 9% of trans students surveyed for the Stonewall School Report 2017 stated they had been subjected to death threats, 84% had said they had self-harmed at some point and 45% had considered taking their own lives (https://www.stonewall.org.uk/sites/default/files/the_school_report_2017.pdf).

A survey conducted by Dr Catherine Lee, head of education and social care at Anglia Ruskin University earlier this year which had 105 responses found that 46% of LGBT+ teachers working at village based schools had taken time off from work because of anxiety or depression brought on as a result of lack of acceptance of their sexual orientation; the figure for teachers based in urban areas was only 5%. Also 40% of rurally based teachers felt their sexual or gender identities had been a direct barrier to accessing promotional opportunities. 30% of teachers had left a role at a village school because they had experienced homophobia, whereas the figure for teachers based in towns and cities was 17%. (https://schoolsweek.co.uk/rural-lgbt-teachers-have-worse-mental-health/). Another survey, conducted for the NASWUT found that 50% of teachers who are LGBT+ felt their school wasn't a safe place to be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The National LGBT Survey asked a number of questions relating to educational experiences, with responses coming from 16 and 17 year olds still in secondary school/sixth form as well as teachers currently based in schools and colleges. 36% of respondents to the survey had been in education in 2016/17, including 98% of respondents aged 16-17 and 64% of those aged 18-24 (p.109).

Many of the responses to the questions reflect concerns already expressed but I feel it's important to explore a number of them in depth to bring home the importance of ensuring educational settings are a place of safety and which nurture a feeling in students and staff alike for celebrating the diversity of human relationships and experiences:

• Respondents who had expressed at the start of the survey that they had a “minority gender identity” (i.e. trans, non-binary, genderqueer, agender etc) were asked a question about how understanding their teachers had been of issues facing trans, gender fluid and non-binary students. Only 13% reported that their teachers and staff had been very understanding or somewhat understanding, and 68% said they had been not very, or not at all, understanding. (p.103) 50% of respondents aged 16-17 and 67% aged 18-24 said that their teachers and other school staff had been not very, or not all, understanding of gender issues (p.103)
• 918 respondents to the National LGBT Survey talked about Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) - “the broader concept of better education in schools regarding sexual orientation, gender identity and being LGBT was the most discussed topic” and when respondents talked about sex education, a number stated that “it is, or was, in their own experience heteronormative, with little-to-no information on any LGBT-specific education about sex and related topics” (p.105). This demonstrates the need for RSE guidance to be LGBTQIA+ inclusive and written by experts who have experience of discussing and researching (and being in) LGBTQIA+ sex and relationships. Knowledge is power, after all!
• 50 respondents to the National LGBT survey talked about the need to discuss LGBT+ history in schools, especially the fight for rights (p.106): this could include lessons on Section 28, the Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners group and the passing of legislation in Parliament.
• Respondents who had reported they were in education stated more often than not that they had not been open with teachers and support staff- 53% of all respondents had not been open with teachers and 61% had not been open with non-teaching staff (p.110).
• 41% of trans respondents had not been open with teaching staff – non-binary respondents were more likely not to be open than trans women and men (p.116). 57% of asexual trans respondents were not open with their teaching staff.
• 18% of respondents who reported they were asexual had not disclosed their sexual orientation to their classmates.
• Only 1.3% of respondents had experienced only negative reactions from others when they disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity but 31.2% had experienced both positive and negative reactions from others when disclosed
• 21% of respondents who had had experienced mixed reactions to disclosure at school, college or university during the 2016/17 academic year said disclosure had happened without their explicit consent and 19% “received verbal harassment, insults or other hurtful comments” (p.118)
• Over 1,200 respondents had mentioned bullying within education in their survey responses: “There was a consensus that the bullying of LGBT people is still common in schools, and that more could be done by government and schools to tackle it” (p.119).
• 88% of incidents perpetrated against respondents who were in education during the 2016/17 year were perpetrated by fellow students but 9% were perpetrated by teachers or other teaching staff (p.120)
• 11% of incidents of sexual harassment or violence against trans students were perpetrated by teachers and other teaching staff (p.120)
• 83% of the most serious incidents that respondents had indicated had taken place had not been reported by themselves or anyone else (p.121)
• 56% of respondents who had not reported the most serious incident said it wouldn't have been worth it and 37% said it would not have been taken seriously by staff or police (p.122)
• 77% of those whose incident was reported to an LGBT organisation or charity said that they had found them very or somewhat helpful, and 66% of those whose incident was reported to parents/guardians had found them very or somewhat helpful (p.124)
• After incidents had been reported, only 13% of respondents who had reported incidents said that the “negative comments or conduct in question had stopped completely (p.124)
• Catholic schools were particularly cited as being places which are “unsupportive” and respondents noted the lack of appropriate LGBTQIA+ RSE in those schools
• 16 responses were received in relation to being LGBTQIA+ and having special educational needs: “respondents noted that the intersectionality of having special educational needs and being LGBT could be a very difficult experience, in that people may conflate the two, or may not sufficiently understand either” (p.127). This indicates a need for more comprehensive guidance and support for staff supporting LGBTQIA+ students with special needs so they do not conflate and resort to use of stereotypes.
• 170 responses were from LGBTQIA+ teachers: more than 1 in 5 have been outed, a third have had a negative reaction from others towards them after disclosing their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, 6% have been excluded from events held in their educational establishments and more worryingly, 9% of the most serious incidents in school/college were perpetrated by their colleagues (read more here: https://www.tes.com/news/one-five-lgbt-teachers-outed-school)

The statistics outlined above paint a mixed picture of educational establishments across the country. It's important to make it clear that there are schools out there who have taken on board measures to improve LGBTQIA+ equality. Getting the basics right makes the biggest difference to the emotional wellbeing of trans, non-binary, gender-fluid, genderqueer and agender students:

• Ensuring anti-bullying policy and procedures include references to stamping out transphobic language and bullying by ensuring staff know what their responsibilities are in reporting and disciplining students who have perpetrated such acts
• Ensuring disciplinary and grievance procedures include reference to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, harassment and discrimination (with reference to the Equality Act 2010)
• Ensuring administrative procedures for updating the name and title marker for students and staff are made clear to teaching and support staff
• Ensuring ALL staff have received basic gender and sexual orientation awareness training from qualified and experienced professionals
• Marking awareness days, weeks and months in school, including LGBT Awareness Month (February), School Diversity Week (July) and Transgender Day of Remembrance (20^th November)
• Scheduling time in PSHE and RSE lessons to talk about LGBTQIA+ equality, relationships (sexual and otherwise) with students in a clear and non-patronising manner
• Embedding lessons on LGBT+ role models and issues across the National Curriculum
• Providing information to students about access to facilities, including toilets and changing rooms
• Engaging with educational organisations including Educate & Celebrate and Just Like Us
• Signposting students to local, regional and national LGBTQIA+ organisations, including Mermaids, Gendered Intelligence and Stonewall.

The situation for trans, non-binary, gender-fluid, genderqueer and agender students in a school will only improve when there is supportive leadership in place to garner the support from staff, parents, guardians, cares and governors needed to enact the measures. This is particularly the case for faith schools in more conservative, rural parts of England where there may not yet be any openly trans, gender-fluid, genderqueer and agender students or staff. Guidance documents such as the Church of England's Valuing All God's Children can help to further the argument towards celebrating diversity which goes beyond mere tolerance (https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/Valuing%20All%20God%27s%20Children%27s%20Report_0.pdf). The guidance includes Anti-Bullying and Equality and Diversity policy templates which can be adapted for use. Books such as How to Transform Your School into an LGBT+ Friendly Place written by Dr Elly Barnes MBE and Dr Anna Carlile of Goldsmiths University of London, Department of Educational Studies can also help to provide the practical information and guidance needed for headteachers, teachers and pastoral care teams to implement positive change (there's a great section on awareness days, weeks and months for example). Department for Education guidance, issued on an ongoing basis are must-read documents: for example, they just updated the guidance for schools by creating a document on gender separation in mixed schools (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719398/Gender-separation-guidance.pdf). One has to acknowledge that there will always be a small but vocal minority of Christians and people of other faiths who advocate denying the existence of different sexual orientations and gender identities but through increasing awareness and training, their potency which they use to control the overall conversation on gender and sexuality for others will begin to evaporate and LGBTQIA+ equality will advance further.

The findings of the National LGBT Survey with regards to education do not shock me. I had little exposure to LGBTQIA+ issues and did not learn about the fight to gain LGBTQIA+ rights at primary or secondary school. I knew a few openly LGBT classmates at secondary school and noticed the homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language most of us were subjected to whilst feeling that such language was unwarranted and affected our self-confidence. I think only one of us was out to teachers and they didn't really know how to support us other than to encourage our academic talents. My secondary school wasn't a bastion of hate but I certainly wouldn't exactly call it a haven of LGBTQIA+ awareness and tolerance either.

I hope that as the years progress and the push for improved rights for trans, non-binary, gender-fluid, genderqueer and agender people gathers steam, whilst LGBTQIA+ inclusive RSE is introduced as part of the PSHE curriculum, that more students and staff feel they can be authentically themselves whilst at school.

The UK Government's LGBT+ Action Plan....It's a start?

This week the UK Government released the findings of their National LGBT+ survey, conducted last year. There were 108,110 valid respondents from people living in the UK aged 16 and over. 61% of respondents were gay or lesbian and 26% were bisexual. 13% of respondents were trans, with 6.9% of respondents (7,800) being non-binary, 3.5% being trans women and 2.9% trans men. Interestingly, 2,970 responses were rejected because they were deemed "offensive, abusive, explicitly vulgar or otherwise unreliable"....I'm guessing some of those responses came from Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs) spouting discourse against trans people so I'm glad there were robust checking procedures as part of the research collation and analysis. I'm going to be examining the report in depth and doing a number of blog posts over the month on the results of the National LGBT+ Survey but you can read the entire 304 page research report for yourself if you wish to here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721704/LGBT-survey-research-report.pdf.

There are a number of statistics that have come out from the analysis of the LGBT+ survey that I feel need to be communicated widely:

• Trans respondents were much more likely to say that they had a disability (33%) than cisgender respondents (14%)
• Trans people had lower scores for life satisfaction in the UK: trans men scored on average 5.1/10, trans women and non-binary people scored on average 5.5/10 (the average for the UK population at large is 7.7/10)
• Only 37% of trans women, 34% of trans men and 38% of non-binary people said they felt comfortable being LGBT in the UK
• 72% of non-binary respondents had not disclosed their gender identity to their neighbours
• 68% of all respondents (who were lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual or pansexual) said they had avoided holding hands with a same-sex partner in public
• 70% had avoided being open about their sexual orientation because they feared they would face a negative reaction
• 59% of trans women, 56% of trans men and 76% of non-binary people who responded to the survey have avoided expressing their gender identity openly but younger cisgender people were more likely to be open
• 24% of all respondents were not open in any way about their gender identity or sexual orientation with family members they lived with (excluding their partners)
• 40% of all respondents had experienced a negative incident in the 12 months prior to filling in the survey when the perpetrator was someone they did not live with on the basis of gender identity and/or sexual orientation or being perceived as LGBT
• 26% of all respondents had been subjected to verbal harassment in the last 12 months prior to filling in the survey
• 14% of respondents had their LGBT status disclosed to others without their express permission in the past 12 months prior to filling in the survey
• 6% of all respondents had been subjected to threats of physical or sexual harassment or violence in the 12 months prior to filling in the survey
• 2% of all respondents had experienced physical violence in the 12 months prior to filling in the survey
• 2% of respondents had experienced sexual violence in the 12 months prior to filling in the survey
• 11% of respondents had had private sexual images and/or videos shared without their explicit consent in the 12 months prior to filling in the survey
• 94% of respondents did not report the most serious incident they had been subjected to when the perpetrator or observers were people they lived with
• 45% of respondents who reported incidents to the police were unsatisfied with how reports were handled
• 5% of respondents had been offered conversion therapy and 2% had undergone such therapy
• 51% of conversion therapies were carried out by faith organisations and groups and 19% were carried out by a healthcare professional/provider
• 77% of overall respondents said that neither gender identity nor sexual orientation was discussed in their school lessons but this dropped to 54% amongst 16 and 17 year olds
• Only 9% of those respondents who had lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation said their lessons had prepared them for later life as an LGBT+ person
• 88% of the most serious incidents reported by respondents in education were perpetrated by a fellow pupil but 9% were perpetrated by a member of teaching staff
• Only 36% of respondents who were transitioning at school said their school was very or somewhat supportive of their needs
• 21% of respondents who stated they were trans who accessed healthcare services said their needs had been ignored: 18% said they had been subjected to "inappropriate curiosity" and 18% also disclosed that they had avoided treatment because of fear of discrimination
• 87% of respondents who had accessed sexual health services in the 12 months prior to filling in the survey said they had a positive experience
• 80% of trans respondents who accessed or tried to access gender identity clinics said it wasn't easy, with the waiting time being seen as the greatest barrier 
• Only 7% of non-binary people had accessed gender identity services with another 6% trying to access services.
• 23% of respondents had experienced a mixed or negative reaction whilst at work due to being LGBT or being perceived as being LGBT, with 9% being subjected to verbal harassment
• 57% of the most serious incidents reported by respondents as happening in the workplace have been perpetrated by a colleague (junior or at same level).

This short list of statistics will come as no surprise to those of us who have spent our lives trying to navigate challenges that originate as a result of ignorance, fear or blatant discrimination by those in positions of power and influence. My blog posts and those of many other LGBTQIA+ people are testament to that. The question is: how can the Government enact policies and legislation to improve the lives of people like me and the lives of those who may not yet have come out as LGBTQIA+?

The Government LGBT+ Action Plan, announced alongside the results of the National LGBT+ survey today aims to address the concerns of LGBT+ people expressed in the survey and by campaigners aiming to improve LGBT+ equality. There are 75 points to the plan and £4.5m announced to specifically support the enacting of the Action Plan which will be available till March 2020, with an LGBT+ Advisory Panel set up to help deliver it.You can read the full document here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721367/GEO-LGBT-Action-Plan.pdf.

One of the headline policy statements from this Action Plan is that conversion therapy will be banned, whether through passing new legislation or exploring non-legislation (i.e. regulatory) options. Conversion therapy is dangerous whereas affirmative therapy helps to improve the mental and physical health of LGBTQIA+ people who struggle initially with accepting their sexual orientation or gender identity. I hope conversion therapy of any kind on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity will be banned, so that we can particularly protect vulnerable trans, gender-diverse and gender-questioning children and young people from being forced to accept gender identities to "fit in" with parental, religious or other expectations. I'd rather see it banned via the introduction of legislation but will wait to see what is recommended by the Government in the next few months.

I welcome and approve of the announcement of a national LGBT+ health adviser and hope I and many others will have an opportunity to meet them to discuss my concerns about the lack of awareness of trans and non-binary people's specific needs, so that we can improve standards of patient care and make our hospitals, GP surgeries, care homes and other spaces a more inclusive and welcoming place.

I'm happy to see the announcement on addressing body image pressures that LGBTQIA+ young people in particular face and hope there will be funding made available for specific body positivity campaigns at grassroots level so that young people themselves working within third-sector and public organisations can help challenge pervasive cultural body norms.

There is a need to help improve the lives of LGBTQIA+ people who have a learning disability so they have the confidence and freedom to engage in activism, in education and in loving relationships. Training for care professionals and carers is vital and that means updating advice and guidance documents in collaboration with charities and other third sector organisations who work on a day-to-day basis with people with learning disabilities.

The approach towards reporting and responses to reports of LGBT+ hate crime needs to be improved so that LGBT+ people have more confidence in the police and the overall system. I appreciate the announcement of a refreshed Hate Crime Action Plan and look forward to reading the recommendations regarding training of police officers and raising awareness of hate crime reporting routes in the local community. It's good to hear that "The Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will... fund a bespoke training package available to all police call handlers to help ensure victims are correctly identified and supported at this critical first point of contact" (p.17) and that the Crown Prosecution Service will work with their partners to improve reporting procedures for LGBTQIA+ victims of domestic abuse, rape, sexual assault and hate crime. However I'd like to see the Government adopt Labour's proposal for making LGBT+ hate crimes aggravated offences to deter perpetrators and send a clear signal that such crimes will not be tolerated.

I'm cautiously optimistic at the recommendations in the Action Plan to increase support for LGBTQIA+ survivors of domestic abuse. Police forces need to ensure that LGBTQIA+ people are aware of the support services they can access and that the review of domestic abuse services will highlight gaps in provision and provide recommendations to improve support packages. The non-legislative package of support which is being created to align with the Domestic Abuse Bill needs to fully consider the needs of LGBTQIA+ survivors. Increasing awareness of Sexual Assault Referral Centres for LGBTQIA+ survivors is also extremely important and I hope that any resulting marketing campaign will be created in full consultation with LGBTQIA+ organisations and the participation of survivors. 

LGBTQIA+ teachers, support staff and pupils all deserve to feel safe and secure whilst attending school or college. More school and college leaders should be encouraged to create or update their policy and procedures and ensure that all staff attend appropriate training which improves awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues but also provides practical, sustainable techniques and measures that can be used to improve LGBTQIA+ equality. Relationships and Sex Education, (when it is eventually introduced) must include LGBTQIA+ awareness and equality and guidance needs to be issued to schools and colleges which is fact-based, comprehensive and easy-to-understand. I'm also pleased to see a commitment from the Crown Prosecution Service to update their LGBT Hate Crime Schools Pack and will do so with the input of LGBTQIA+ young people and the Government's Equalities Office will work with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to produce comprehensive guidance to support trans, gender-diverse and gender-questioning children and young people.

It's good to see a commitment by the Government's Equalities Office to provide employers with free training materials to help them create a more inclusive working environment as well as creating an employers' working group to discuss key issues. I hope a range of organisations, large and small from across the UK can contribute to this working group and help with the creation of training materials.

I appreciate that non-binary people will have the opportunity to contribute towards a specific Call for Evidence so that ministers and decision makers alike can hopefully improve their awareness of issues that affect us but I hope they will continue to or begin consulting with experts who have extensive experience of working with non-binary people. The Gender Recognition Act needs radical reform to improve access to legal recognition for non-binary, agender and gender-fluid people and there needs to be appropriate and safe opportunities provided for non-binary, agender and gender-fluid people to contribute to the Gender Recognition Act (2004) consultation, without fear of being subjected to verbal abuse and harassment from opponents. I also welcome the attempts that will be made to make it easier to make changes to gender markers (which I hope will soon include non-binary ones) legally through a "Tell Us Once" type service. It could reduce the bureaucratic cost and ensure all documents are kept up-to-date as per current General Data Protection Regulation and Gender Recognition Act requirements.

Intersex people deserve to have their right to be protected from direct and indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment enshrined within our legislative framework. The Equality Act (2010) should therefore be amended to include intersex as a protected characteristic. The National LGBT+ Survey had 1,980 responses from intersex people living in the UK and one important statistic that came out was that 16% respondents said their GP didn't know where to refer an intersex patient for further advice and guidance. It's important therefore that healthcare professionals receive appropriate training as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirement so they have more awareness of intersex advice organisations and provide the right advice and guidance to support patients. Equally there needs to be a bill brought before Parliament to ban unnecessary cosmetic sex assignment surgery on intersex infants and young people and procedures brought in so that intersex people have the undeniable right of access to their medical records to find out what surgical interventions they had been subjected to.

I must say I am disappointed to see a firm commitment to bringing marriage equality to Northern Ireland, but given the current political situation with Brexit, and PM May's reliance on the votes of DUP minsters, I am not surprised. LGBT+ people in Northern Ireland deserve to enjoy the same rights as those living in London or Lincoln and I hope that the next Labour Government will push more fervently for reform if this current Tory Government fails to do so. That being said, the Government has now committed itself to putting on an international conference on LGBT+ issues so I hope that will provide an opportunity to address LGBT+ discrimination in Commonwealth countries (there are still 37 countries where homosexuality is still criminalised). There is also the idea of the UK bidding to co-chair the Equal Rights Commission in 2019 so we shall what happens with that in the next few months.

I'm also disappointed at the lack of detailed policy reform to support LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers who come to the UK to escape persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We need to end the hostile approach (which has led to what has been dubbed the "Rainbow Rush scandal") and do this by bringing to an end the detention and deportation of LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers and speed up the application process for all asylum seekers so that they can all begin to rebuild their lives knowing they have a safe place in which to do so. It is good nonetheless to see a commitment to reviewing guidance for caseworkers and reviewing the training of professionals dealing with asylum claims across the board. Let's demonstrate our compassion and fight for and protect the rights of all LGBTQIA+ people living in the UK, whether they are British citizens or not.

There are policies to be commended in the LGBT+ Action Plan and if implemented in full, it will lead to improvements to the lives of LGBTQIA+ people across the UK, through the dissemination of knowledge, increased participation opportunities for engagement on policy and a systematic shift in the way key societal institutions view LGBTQIA+ equality. As Dawn Butler, Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities highlighted in her response to the LGBT+ Action Plan, there is a need for sustainable funding so that policy actions and consultations can take place. It's a reasonable start, but no campaigners would deny there is still much to do.

The spectre of Section 28 still lingers on but there's hope for better LGBTQIA+ equality in the UK...

Today marks 30 years since Margaret Thatcher decided to enact Section 28, a draconian and discriminatory piece of legislation designed to stop education professionals in schools across the UK from discussing non-heteronormative sexual orientations in the classroom (with a specific focus on stopping gay and lesbian people, including teachers from talking about their sexual orientation and life experiences with students) with the ultimate aim of reducing the “promotion” of LGBTQIA+ lifestyles. Local authorities were also prevented from such “promoting”, with libraries being forced into not stocking literature or films that contained primarily gay, bi or lesbian themes, although Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are Not the Only Fruit (1985) was a notable novel read by students and studied for GCSE and A-Level exams which allowed young people to read about the life experiences of a young lesbian growing up in a deeply religious (Pentecostal) community.

I feel I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the LGBTQIA+ campaigners who fought against the introduction of this despicable clause from the off. For example, Joe Summerlad in his article for the Independent mentions the three amazing lesbian activists, calling themselves the “Lesbian Avengers” managed to gain access to the public gallery of the House of Lords and abseiled down to the chamber, an act which gained them and the anti-Section 28 cause national attention (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/section-28-explained-lgbt-education-schools-homosexuality-gay-queer-margaret-thatcher-a8366741.html) Mancunians also made their feelings towards the legislation clear with the “Never Going Underground” demo which took place on the 20^th February 1988, and which attracted at least 20,000 demonstrators from around the UK and had speakers including Jimmy Somerville (http://www.gayinthe80s.com/2018/02/section-28-feb-20th-1988-never-going-underground-demo/).

Thatcher used her Christian conservatism to attack openly gay and lesbian people. She never acknowledged publicly (to my knowledge) the existence of bisexual people and I don't even want to contemplate what her views towards openly non-binary trans people like me would have been. The Tories pretty much backed her all the way, claiming that it was Labour who were determined to bring pro-LGBTQIA+ books into school to challenge “traditional values”. The Tories capitalised on

on the fear rhetoric perpetuated by the right-wing press, just like the social conservatives and trans-exclusionary radical feminists do today with regards to their attitudes towards trans activists and further trans equality. As Ruth Hunt points out in her very pertinent article, “shocking levels of misinformation and scaremongering are cruelly attacking trans people's right to exist, as well as publicly questioning their identities. Deeply misleading headlines about the GRA (Gender Recognition Act 2004) and young people “being turned trans” echoes exactly the way LGB people were talked about under Section 28” (https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/section-28-school-sexuality-education-gay-lgbt-trans-rights-thatcher-a8366751.html). Editorial teams based at The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Express, New Statesman and The Spectator in particular need to look very carefully at the way they choose articles to include in their newspapers but I'm guessing they probably won't reform their processes given their desire to provide clickbait for the right-wing masses.

I went to primary school, junior school and the first 3 years of secondary school with Section 28 still being in place in England. It's no wonder that teachers, teaching assistants and pastoral staff were reluctant to talk about being gay, bi or lesbian to students like me in front of other students because they had not had the freedom to do so in the years before I entered the state education system.

Homophobic and biphobic language was commonplace in the junior school playground and I never heard such language challenged by the playground assistants. I have no doubt that young people I knew in my classes at secondary school internalised feelings of fear and believed the stereotypes being perpetuated and it made them feel they could not be proud of their sexuality, even after they decided to come out.

LGBTQIA+ rights have improved somewhat since the repeal of Section 28 under Tony Blair's Labour Government in 2003, not least with the introduction of the Equality Act in 2010 and the Same Sex Marriage Act 2013. However, the legacy of Section 28 still lingers on today. Just Like Us, an organisation who recruit LGBTQIA+ students to go into schools to champion LGBTQIA+ equality and that has created Schools Diversity Week to “empower schools across the UK to tackle homophobia, biphobia and transphobia” have recently reported that “almost 90% of young LGBTQ people still hear homophobic language in schools and 50% self-harm” (http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/news/106845/school-diversity-week-2018/). The Stonewall School Report 2017 found that 45% of LGBT respondents (and 65% of trans respondents) have experienced bullying at school and the statistics highlight that LGBTQIA+ people of faith and people of colour are more likely to experience bullying and hate incidents whilst at school (https://www.stonewall.org.uk/school-report-2017). Meanwhile we have radical feminist dominated organisations such as Transgender Trend who claim they are “gender critical” advocating for trans people not being given the opportunity to talk about their life experiences in school for fear of “turning children trans” (an out and out lie on their part) and we have some education professionals who have a socially conservative mindset still fiercely resisting calls to introduce LGBTQIA+ Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) into all schools in England. They cite freedom of conscience, religion and expression as a legitimate basis for their objections. Yet in their efforts to defend “traditional British values”, they fail to acknowledge the liberal, modern values that we should all possess, either as British Citizens or residents of the UK or as I like to think, as Citizens of the World. Compassion and love of diversity are values central to a liberal, progressive outlook. So are tolerance and reverence for the Rule of Law. Any programme that can reduce instances of hate incidents and hate crime motivated by homophobia, biphobia and transphobia should be endorsed wholeheartedly. Any programme that promotes love and understanding for one another over misinformation and mistrust is one that I cannot help endorse as a Lutheran Christian. Yet worrying evidence collated by Dr Laura Watt and Professor Mark Elliot from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles carried out by 1990 and 2010 have shown that acceptance of same-sex relationships percentages has slowed down since 2000, with 60% of 16-44 year olds who attended at least 1 religious service a week viewing homosexuality as always wrong when asked in 2010 (only down by 8% from 1990 figures) (http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/peak-acceptance-of-homosexuality/).

Demonstrating freedom of conscience and expression, the things that religious conservatives bang on about so often means that every student has the right to explore diverse life experiences through finding out about LGBTQIA+ role models. Students of all ages have the right to explore their own feelings towards sexuality and gender through access to age-appropriate RSE sources. Just as students should have the opportunity to find out about multiple faiths in their Religious Education lessons, free from teacher judgment/bias. To me therefore it is illiberal for social conservatives to even object on the grounds of conscience or religion to LGBTQIA+ people being encouraged to come into local schools and talk about their life experiences, just as it would be illiberal to object to faith representatives coming into schools to talk about their experiences.

Numerous organisations have highlighted the lack of LGBTQIA+ RSE within the PSHE curriculum post the repeal of Section 28. A survey by Stonewall found that only 13% of respondents had learned about healthy same-sex relationships, 1 in 5 had learned about consent law in relation to same-sex relationships and 20% have learnt about keeping themselves safe in same-sex experiences. Fewer students have learned about trans people's experiences of sex. As for exploring asexual (ace) experiences in the classroom, very few teachers have the awareness necessary to facilitate discussions, despite more young people coming out openly as ace whilst at secondary school (although much more research needs to be conducted to highlight this).

There are increasing numbers of LGBTQIA+ graduates entering the teaching profession and education sector as a whole and an increasing number of teachers coming out. Teach First has collated data on the number of LGBT+ teachers between 2014 and 2018 and found there had been a 4% increase. The Independent (who has really led the way on coverage of LGBTQIA+ issues I think) has an article where several LGBT teachers who have been part of the Teach First programme talk about what actions they have taken to improve awareness inside the classroom. For example Laura, a teacher based in London decided to hold LGBT+ assemblies, run clubs, and taken her sixth form students to London Pride to march. I love Laura's passion for empowering her students to be positive about their own sexuality and gender identity and agree with her that her students “will continue to strive for a more accepting and equal society (https://www.indy100.com/article/lgbt-teachers-section-28-sexuality-education-schools-8363746).

It's great that we now have more role models like Laura for students to look up-to but there still needs to be changes to attitudes in the workplace to ensure that trans, non-binary, genderqueer, gender-fluid, and agender people feel they can enter and thrive in the teaching profession. A real-time poll, carried out by the NASUWT of attendees at their LGBTI Teachers' Consultation Conference, held in Birmingham (https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-listing/not-doing-enough-to-promote-lgbti-equality-.html) found that:

• 43% of respondents have experienced discrimination, bullying, harassment, or victimisation in the last 12 months because of their LGBTI identity
• 29% of respondents stated that levels of anti LGBTI bullying and language have increased or stayed the same in their school in recent years
• 86% of respondents said they do not believe that the Government is doing enough to communicate the importance of LGBTI equality to schools and colleges
• 56% of respondents said their school wasn't committed to LGBTI equality for staff and pupils
• 4% of respondents said their school had a programme of activities to mark LGBT month
• 1/3 of respondents said their school or college wasn't a safe space for LGBT teachers
• 49% of attendees said they wouldn't recommend teaching as a career to families or friends.

In the same vein, a 2018 British Social Attitudes survey found that whilst over 8 in 10 British people described themselves as not being “prejudiced at all” towards trans people, only 4 in 10 had said that trans people who had the qualifications needed to become a primary school teacher should “definitely be” employed in that role (http://www.natcen.ac.uk/blog/how-do-british-people-feel-about-transphobia-and-transgender-issues). This is concerning and highlights the work that needs to be done to debunk stereotypes that have pervaded about trans people and the interactions they may have through positive engagement work with governors and parents in schools.

It must be remembered that schools and colleges (and local authorities for that matter) are bound under the Equality Act to help improve LGBT+ equality. Under the Public Sector Equality Duty, schools must ensure they pay “due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any conduct that is prohibited under the Act; to advance equality or opportunity between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not and to foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not” (https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/Valuing%20All%20God%27s%20Children%27s%20Report_0.pdf). If schools and colleges do not adhere to this Duty, they can face enforcement action brought by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. So what more could be done by schools to further fulfill the Public Sector Equality Duty? Well for starters, every school needs to check their Equal Opportunities/Equality and Diversity policy to ensure they are trans-inclusive. A specific commitment to tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying should be contained within the Anti-Bullying policy. Forms should be reviewed to ensure students can reflect their identity openly but only information that is absolutely necessary should be collected. An Equality and Diversity steering group with student representatives would be a great way of reviewing and amending such policies.

Teachers should feel empowered to follow clearly defined procedures in the event of students using persistant transphobic language in the classroom and address that language as soon as they hear it. There should be LGBTQIA+ clubs available to students to attend at lunchtime or after school with activities, support and advice being offered.

Access to training on trans awareness should be available to all members of staff and volunteers as part of their Continuing Professional Development, with that training being delivered by qualified and experienced people. Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence are examples of organisations that have offered very effective training but there are a diverse range of trainers located across the UK, including those who are trans, non-binary, genderqueer, gender-fluid or agender who could be counted upon to deliver appropriate training. Members of the community who are LGBTQIA+ should be invited to deliver assemblies, attend RSE/PSHE lessons and/or work with students on Pride celebrations.

RSE and PSHE leads should have the opportunity to attend LGBTQIA+ specific conferences and network with organisations so they can have access to the research and support network they need to deliver truly LGBTQIA+ inclusive RSE. I hope more conferences will be created for RSE professionals as the subject is made a statutory part of the curriculum from next September.

Making provisions to celebrate key awareness days and awareness weeks would also help to raise the profile of LGBTQIA+ people in schools (aside from LGBT month in February).

A list of key dates that I'm aware of are listed below:

• Zero Discrimination Day: March 1^st
• International Transgender Day of Visibility: March 31^st
• Lesbian Visibility Day: 26^th April
• International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia: May 17^th
• School Diversity Week: July 2nd-8^th
• Bisexual Visibility Day: September 23^rd
• Asexual Awareness Week:
• National Coming Out Day: October 11^th
• Hate Crime Awareness Week: October 15^th- 22^nd
• Intersex Awareness Day: October 26^th
• Intersex Day of Remembrance/Intersex Solidarity Day: November 8^th
• Transgender Awareness Week: (Second week of November)

The results of the LGBT survey, commissioned by the Government last year and which has had over 100,000 responses is due to be released in a few weeks time. PM Theresa May has promised to create a strategy designed to reduce the prevalence of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and advance LGBTQIA+ rights. I hope that such a strategy will include more funding for trans awareness training in schools, statutory LGBTQIA+ inclusive RSE guidance and a move towards self-identification of legal gender. A bold approach is needed if society is to continue the fight to improve LGBTQIA+ rights and equality in the UK. Let's hope those changes I've highlighted above will spearhead that bold approach.

Thoughts on the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference 2018

The stringency of the austerity measures....Brexit.......The Housing Crisis.....issues that are discussed by people on a daily basis at the moment, whether explicitly or implicitly. Half the time it can feel like the structural problems connected with our society: inequality of opportunity, wage stagnation, low productivity, a growing demand for public services can seem insurmountable. Disengagement with politics remains an issue, particularly for Millennials and Generation Z (16-35). Hope for a brighter, more equal future flickers rather than burns brightly, which is why it's more important than ever to be engaging with voters and non-voters through the dissemination of an inclusive, ambitious and progressive vision for the country that will try to address our structural challenges head-on. I believe the party that can best articulate such a vision at a grassroots local and national level will have a real chance of winning a majority at the next General Election. The question is, whether there is a party out there who can listen to the electorate AND non-electorate, build political engagement and articulate a vision, in the shadow of disruptive Brexit negotiations.

This Mothering Sunday afternoon I decided to tune into Sir Vince Cable's (the leader of the Liberal Democrats) closing speech to Spring Conference delegates in Southport, which was streamed live via Periscope and also simultaneously disseminated via YouTube and Facebook live. I was probably only one of a couple thousand viewers who made such a decision but I didn't feel it was an entirely wasted activity. Cable came across as clearly passionate about campaigning for an #ExitFromBrexit (i.e. a referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal with an option to Remain in the EU) and well-informed about current domestic issues and the need for pragmatic, wide-ranging solutions. Yet I did wonder whether he was already preaching to the converted, although it is important to empower them to go out campaigning in constituencies across the UK in all kinds of places (including care homes, Mr Cable!!) I also thought his comments RE Leave voters were a little hap-hazard: trying to reduce the reasons why older voters backed Brexit down to one reason: nostalgia for a less diverse Britain isn't founded entirely on evidence- a minority of voters may have done so but they are exactly that, a minority. Hmm...Anyways onto the policy announcements...

Education:

The Lib Dems certainly have a number of policies that I believe would appeal to the electorate at large: protecting per pupil funding in real terms for all pupils including in Further Education, protecting the Pupil Premium, increasing the Early Years Pupil Premium by £700 to £1000 a year, requiring teachers in state schools to have QTS (Qualified Teaching Status) or working towards it and providing at least 50 hours of Continuing Professional Development per year for teachers. In addition to these, the Lib Dems are proposing quite radical changes: abolishing Key Stage 1 and 2 SATs with moderated teacher assessments and a standardisation test, abolishing Regional Schools Commissioners, making local authorities responsible for planning, exclusions and admissions and replacing Ofsted with a new inspection system, looking at emotional wellbeing of teachers and students in addition to test scores. I'm also glad to see SEND pupils' needs mentioned, with a desire to reduce the number of SEND pupils being excluded from mainstream school, and to see the proposal for a named person (a pastoral team lead preferably) who is responsible for craft whole school policies and approaches towards mental health.

I agree with the idea behind “Every Child Empowered”, ensuring that children and young people in constituencies across the country, including in deprived wards and rural villages and hamlets get access to the skills they need to prepare them fully for adult life: who can argue against providing First Aid training in schools and colleges if it means it reduces the amount of unnecessary GP appointments, A&E admissions and calls to NHS helplines? Who can argue with introducing comprehensive LGBTQIA+ Relationships and Sex Education if it helps to reduce instances of sexual assault, abuse, under-age pregnancies or misinformation about gender identities? Who can argue against teaching children about budgeting and debt management if it allows them to make informed decisions about borrowing and reduces the number of people resorting to loan sharks? Financial literacy, First Aid and RSE should all be on the National Curriculum, as part of the PSHE and Citizenship programmes of study and there should be funding given by Government directly to schools to allow for external providers to deliver sessions, taking the pressure off teachers who may not have the time to be researching such topics in depth with students. Such a broad curriculum, a “Curriculum for Life” should be required to be taught in academy and free schools and public schools should be encouraged to reform their curriculum offer.

There's also talk of introducing Personal Education Accounts, one for 16-18 year olds and one specifically for adult learners to help pay for training and skills courses delivered online, at local FE colleges and in community centres and libraries will help people access quality courses and aid their career development. Cable announced in his speech that a Commission on Life Long Learning will be set up to explore this policy idea further.

There's a lot of detailed recommendations and I'd refer those interested in finding out more to check out the policy document here: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/libdems/pages/42359/attachments/original/1518080686/Every_Child_Empowered_-_Policy_Paper.pdf?1518080686

NHS, Social Care and Mental Health:

Our NHS remains greatly under-pressure and little practical action has been taken by the Tory Government to try and alleviate such pressures. The Tories may claim that health spending is at record levels but it has not been enough given the rise in demand for services. They and previous governments have failed to prepare adequately for the ageing of our population. A&E waiting times are now the highest they have ever been: only 85% of patients in England were seen under 4 hours. The United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust missed its waiting time target by 25% and has missed every target for A&E and cancer care for every year since 2014. For Lincolnshire residents, this is extremely concerning. The Lib Dems F18: The NHS at 70 motion recognises the pressure that NHS Trusts are under and are calling on the Tory Government to provide £4bn that the NHS will need for 2018/19 financial year, with an addition £2bn of funding given to local authorities to fund social care. Additionally, the Lib Dems want to see the introduction of a special NHS passport to allow 59,000 NHS professionals from the EU an automatic guaranteed right to remain following Brexit and for bursaries for student nurses to be reintroducted to encourage more British people to decide to train to be a nurse and thereby reduce the nursing shortage in hospitals and care homes across the country.

Mental Health care has not improved satisfactory under this Tory Government. Waiting times for referral remain far too long, demand for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services has increased, with 1 in 5 children who have been referred to local CAMHS services being rejected for treatment :that's a total of 39,652 children (https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-we-do/news-opinion/1-in-five-5-children-referred-to-local-mental-health-services-are-rejected-for-treatment/). This is concerning given that 1 in 10 children in England between the ages of 5 and 16 suffer from a mental health condition and up to 20% of children will experience a mental health condition in any given year. NHS CAMHS are currently only funded to meet 25% of cases but that is expected to increase to 33% by 2021. The Government has committed to recruiting 1,700 more therapists and supervisors and to ensure that an extra 70,000 children and young people are able to access CAMHS but it is unclear whether such targets will be achieved.

Norman Lamb has been a passionate campaigner for better Mental Health service provision and thus I'm not surprised to see some concrete policy suggestions being offered in F18: the earmarked £1.3bn of spending being brought forward to improve mental health service provision, ending out-of-area placements, very important for people living in rural areas such as Metheringham and the protection and promotion of community pharmacies. Perhaps the most radical suggestion, and one that has been made by Lamb for years, is the creation of a cross-party committee to look at funding the NHS and Social Care system long term. Raising the level of income tax by 1p in the £1 to fund social care short-term would help alleviate funding pressures but there has to be a sustainable long-term solution found and it's in the political interests of all parties concerned to find such a solution. Let's see if that happens anytime soon. I'm not holding my breath.

Housing:

Britain needs a housing revolution in order to ensure that every person has a suitable and safe roof over their head regardless of their socio-economic circumstances. It's ridiculous to think that the peak of house building in the UK was 1968 and that in 2018 we face a situation where 125,000 children are classed as homeless and rough sleepers are dying out on our streets, despite the best efforts of compassionate individuals and organisations such as The Nomad Trust, LEAP and Lincolnshire YMCA to help them. Access to decent housing should be viewed as a human right. A house should be a place to call home, not an investment to feel obligated to upkeep with no families living in it to bring the place to life. Yet the Government (when in coalition with the Lib Dems between 2010 and 2015 and afterwards) more than halved the state housing development budget for local councils and housing associations from £11bn in 2010 to £5.3bn last year. The Local Government Association revealed that local councils and their communities had granted nearly twice as many planning permissions (321,000) as the number of new homes that had been completed (183,000) last year. The issue is not with planning permission being granted, it's with housebuilders not building enough homes once they have planning permission granted.

It's good to see the Lib Dems reaffirm their commitment to building 300,000 houses a year in England by 2022 and to scrapping the draconian housing borrowing cap. I agree with the Lib Dems that local authorities must be able to access loans to build and invest in quality affordable and social housing, including “borrowing from the Public Works Loan board to buy land for housing and build affordable and social housing on the same terms they are currently borrowing to purchase commercial property” (https://www.libdems.org.uk/spring-18-f4-local-government-housing). I also believe local authorities should be given the right to scrap Right To Buy in their area, when assessments of local need have been carried out. Any proceeds from the sale of council houses by local authorities should be used to find new social housing for homeless families and I'd argue also to acquire adapted social housing for disabled residents who have been on the council house waiting list for more than 2 years. Councils should also have powers to monitor housing developments, to ensure that “poor door” practices are abandoned. Redevelopment of housing estates must not lead to a decrease in social housing: one of the best ways to prevent this from happening would be to introduce a (I believe legal) “right of return for all residents on the same terms as their pre-regeneration tenancy” (https://www.libdems.org.uk/spring-18-f4-local-government-housing). Such policies would benefit residents first and foremost and help to ensure community cohesion is maintained post the end of regeneration projects. I'd only add that PM May's suggestion of changing the use of empty retail properties in inner city areas would be beneficial to adopt and that the EDMO legislation strengthening should allow local authorities the opportunity to compulsory purchase empty retail property for the expressed purpose of creating social housing for the homeless and low income families with children. Landbanking is also an issue that needs to be resolved: it's not right that developers can be allowed to purchase land for the specific purpose of building new homes and then not start to build them within a 2 year period. Perhaps there needs to be compulsory purchases made if landbanking continued beyond a 2 year slot.

Rural Affairs:

I have spoken to numerous rural voters who do feel the issues that they raise are being ignored by the current Conservative government. In Lincolnshire, we have had streetlights turned off in villages and hamlets across the county and it has made some residents feel too scared to walk to the pub or to visit their friends at night for fear of being mugged, assaulted or worse. The safety of our county's residents has to trump ideologically driven efficiency savings but our Conservative controlled County Council has failed to listen to concerns and reverse the policy in full. I've spoken to rural residents in the Sleaford and North Hykeham constituency worried about the continued closure of Grantham A&E at night and wondering whether it will eventually be downgraded or closed through the implementation of Lincolnshire's Sustainability and Transformation Plans, forcing them to travel for an hour just to get medical attention at Lincoln County Hospital's already under-pressure A&E. I'm pleased to see the adoption of motion F8: A Rural Future: Time To Act by conference delegates, which includes a specific commitment to “increasing the availability of affordable housing” through the reduction of second home ownership (allowing local authorities to increase tax on second homes through a stamp duty surcharge or an increase in council tax rate). The installation of Superfast broadband which is defined as being “over 30 Mbps download speeds and 6 Mbps upload speeds” should continue to be a priority, so businesses and households in Chapel St Leonards have an ability to access the internet at the same speed as those based in Lincoln.

I would like to see the introduction of a Young Person's Bus Discount Card, for all young people aged 16-21 living in rural areas which provides then with 2/3 discount on bus fares. This will allow young people to be able to afford to travel across Lincolnshire, visiting friends, joining community youth clubs and attending training sessions, which will help reduce their sense of rural isolation. I agree with the notion of creating more community centre hubs providing a multitude of services to residents but would like to see investment come from central Government in order to facilitate such creation. Local authorities are overstretched and do not have the financial resources spare to shoulder the majority of the financial burden for these projects.

I agree with proposals to increase Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments to help maintain woodlands and forests, reduce soil erosion and uphold animal rights. Investment in flood prevention in rural constituencies and launching a National Fund for Coastal Change are also sentient policy ideas which clearly demonstrate eco-friendly credentials.

Voter Engagement and Equality and Diversity:

Cable talked of the need to improve diversity within the Lib Dem party in his speech, a comment which I respect him for making and one which I hope will be taken on board. The Lib Dems are doing well in local council by-elections across the country at the country at the moment, with residents listening to key policy ideas and buying into their vision for an open, tolerant and inclusive society. Credit for this success has to go to local campaigners, councillors and candidates who engage with voters and current non-voters on the doorstep, listening to their concerns and not immediately judging them their Brexit vote. This work needs to continue to grow in order to increase the number of MPs at the next General Election. Increasing awareness of the policy platform is half the battle. I'd argue that Lib Dems should set up more central meetings, held at village halls and community centres, liaising with local third sector organisations and allowing people to be honest, open and frank about their views. Organising meetings in care homes would be innovative and demonstrate that the party cares about all voters: after all, Brexit may lead to a reduction in sustainability staffing levels which will then affect them directly.

It was great to see a renewed commitment to advocating for electoral reform, making the case for the introduction of a right to vote for 16 and 17 year olds and supporting the private members bill put forward by Labour MP Peter Kyle. There's also a campaign being run to raise awareness that EU citizens can vote in local elections. More campaigning should be done on the need for House of Lords reform to build support for the creation of an elected House of Lords (or change of name...e.g. to a Senate or something similar). Supporting devolution of powers to local authorities (including those on housing proposed under F4) should be a priority too and may win over more skeptical voters.

It was amazing to see via Twitter and by watching some of the Spring Conference via YouTube the wealth of speakers who had been invited to talk about their personal experiences and ideas for the future. A motion put forward by Jess Insall, a member of LGBT+ Lib Dems on gender neutral school uniforms, arguing that schools should present uniform options that can be worn by pupils of all genders was praised and passed by delegates for being inclusive and feminist. There was no mainstream platforming of transphobic views masquerading as real feminism by trans exclusionary radical feminists. The party can build on their record for inclusion through further engagement with working class rural people, especially in constituencies such as Sleaford and North Hykeham, Gainsborough, Grantham and Stamford, Boston and Skegness and Louth and Horncastle. Engagement with habitual Conservative voters through promotion of rural policies and building up a reputation for economic credibility will also prove fruitful, as will engagement with suburban voters particularly with a number of young, passionate and thoughtful candidates standing in this year's local elections.

Back Away from the Brexit:

Of all the policy suggestions and motions passed at this year's Spring Conference, perhaps the one which will garner the most attention from ordinary people and the mainstream leader is the Lib Dem's commitment to an Exit From Brexit. I've spoken to voters and non-voters across Lincolnshire over the past few months about their views towards Brexit and it's clear there is still a lot of passion emanating from Remain and Leave voters, with no overall consensus as to the best way forward. Non- referendum voters feel that the debate hasn't moved on since June 2016 and a number are concerned about the potential economic and cultural effects Brexit may have on Lincoln and Lincolnshire. Even the most ardent of Leave voters I have spoken to have occasionally expressed their concerns. I remember talking to a very forthright retired plasterer, who believed in the need to take back control of sovereignty from Brussels but worried about whether his pension contributions could decrease if the Tory government did not secure “ more beneficial” free trade agreements with the US Trump administration or Commonwealth member states. A young lady, who works at a care home in Lincoln and voted Leave in 2016 told me that she was worried her workload may increase if the home couldn't replace the carers who had decided to leave the UK or were thinking of leaving the UK once Brexit happens afters March 2019. A young guy who is a very committed Conservative didn't like the fact that food prices may rise following a No-Deal situation, where the UK will have to rely on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules in order to keep our economy alive. For certain elements of the mainstream media and Tory Brexiteers to deny such levels of anxiety about the potential consequences of Brexit exist, even in Leave voting areas such as Lincoln, is to deny the reality of the situation. It is inevitable that some voters will decide to change their mind, and would vote Remain in another referendum. More importantly though it is vital that the main political parties have strategic plans in place that will help mitigate any potential negative economic and cultural effects of Brexit. The Tories never talk of such plans, only making passing references to their Impact War Chest and hoping that a deal can be secured that allows them to maintain a veneer of economic competence. The Lib Dems have spelled out some policies but I personally feel more work needs to be done to craft policies that can be enacted in the event Brexit does happen. Better to be prepared and hope that Brexit doesn't happen in a No Deal form or even better, doesn't happen, than to fail to prepare for the No Deal Brexit. Perhaps such policies will be formulated and announced once a draft trade deal has been secured by Double D et al. But don't hold your breath that they can secure a trade deal, let alone a good one.

Whichever way Brexit is spun, whether it's a “take back control” or a “jobs first” type, it looks like it is going to lead to a contraction of the economy and potentially further cuts to our public services. As Mr Cable made clear in his speech, such measures would hurt the most vulnerable in our society who rely on effective public service provision for support. Jeremy Corbyn has pretty much committed the Labour Party to leaving the Single Market, remains very cagey about what a Customs Union that's not the current EU Customs Union would look like and has dismissed out of hand calls for a referendum on the Brexit deal. I don't know whether the Labour position will evolve as we get closer to the day of Brexit but one positive advantage for the Lib Dems is that they have a very clear Brexit position and are not afraid to stick to it.

Conclusion:

The Lib Dems have a lot of work to do if they are to regain seats at the next General Election. The Survation poll currently puts them at 9%, whilst Labour have seen a surge in support, placing them at 44% (http://uk.businessinsider.com/survation-labour-popularity-surge-7-point-lead-poll-conservatives-2018-3). Such poll numbers may be optimistic in both cases and may change upwards or downwards as the nature of the Brexit deal becomes clear. The motions passed at the Lib Dem Spring Conference, and the passion for a liberal future expressed by speakers, including Mr Cable may go some way towards changing voters' minds. It'll be interesting to see what new policies are developed in time for the Autumn Conference....unless a General Election happens before then. Who knows in our currently unpredictable political climate?

Reflections on 2017 & Hopes for 2018

The festive period is a traditionally a time for reflection for many Christians, other people of faith, agnostics and atheists alike; a period where we consider the thoughts we have had and the actions we have taken over the last year and decide whether we need to amend our behaviour to be more compassionate, helpful people in the following year. 2017 has certainly been a challenging one for liberal minded people, with the seemingly unstoppable ascendency of Trumpian and Alt-Right thought and the continuation of division along Brexit voting lines, with discussions proving less than fruitful at times. Reminding ourselves of Jesus' birth and the compassion he demonstrated to people seemingly very different from himself should remind us of the need for dialogue, for breaking down erected stereotypes in order to try and establish common ground on which to build a brighter, happier future. So here's my reflections on 2017 generally and some of my hopes and recommendations for 2018.

Brexit and Politics:

When examining the situation of folks in the UK, you can see that people from both sides of the Brexit referendum hope to see positive changes made to the working and living conditions of people in the UK, although they may differ on how best to deliver that long-lasting change. I believe it's true to say that the Brexit referendum was used as an attempt by some as a way of cementing blame for the lack of UK economic security and ability to destiny-shape on the EU. However, it wasn't our membership of the EU that contributed wholly to the decline of our industrial heartlands; neither is it the fault of the EU that we continue to have low productivity growth a decade after the banking crash. Successive governments have failed to deliver appropriate industrial strategies designed to maximise the potential of small and medium sized businesses based in rural as well as urban constituencies. The Conservative government has spent too much time focussing on designing and implementing short-term austerity measures and not enough time co-ordinating an industrial strategy that is bold and wide-reaching. Establishing maths schools and Universal Technical Colleges is all well and good but there has to be jobs in regional areas for graduates of those schools to go and funding still needs to be place for young people to become apprentices in enterprising small and medium sized businesses located near to where they live. It shouldn't be the case that young people feel they have to migrate to larger cities to find sustainable work and it isn't right that small and medium sized business owners are not getting the real targeted help they need to expand and take on local talent. Brexiteers tell us that Britain outside the EU will present many free trade opportunities for businesses yet little evidence is out there that convinces small and medium sized business owners that those opportunities will benefit them directly. It's time to stop focussing on massaging the egos of corporate hedge fund managers and Nigel Farage and instead come up with ideas that will benefit businesses based in places like Skegness and Metheringham first.

Brexit wise generally, I have no idea whether the trading negotiation outcome will be anything near to the favourable trading conditions we currently have with the EU. I still remain convinced that our interests are best served by being a member of the Single Market and Customs Union but that option is only available if we decide to remain within the EU. A Survation poll conducted for the Mail on Sunday and released earlier this month found that out of the 1,003 respondents, 50% said they “support the holding of a referendum asking the public if they accept or reject the negotiated deal” (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britons-majority-in-favour-of-public-vote-on-final-brexit-deal-uk-politics-a8089161.html) The most recent BMG Research poll for The Independent has indicated a continuation in the shift in attitude towards Brexit itself, with 51% of 1,509 respondents stating they wish the UK to remain a member of the EU and only 41% saying they still want the UK to leave (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-second-referendum-latest-poll-remain-ten-points-leave-bmg-a8114406.html). I believe a 2^nd referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal should be on the cards but at the moment it looks unlikely to happen (Jeremy Corbyn remains quiet on the subject but I'm still unsure as to why he is so reluctant to advocate for a 2^nd referendum and Keir Starmer doesn't seem to believe it would be a worthwhile policy idea to back at least in public). What is certain is that voters need to be realistic about the UK's current economic prospects outside of the EU trading bloc; thus far, they look less than optimistic. Inflation is already hitting people's pockets. The British Retail Consortium has warned that prices could rise unless existing trade deals can be replicated: tariffs on clothes from Turkey could increase from 0 to 12% and duties on Icelandic fish could end up being 11% when they are only 3.4% currently. The Government is clearly worried about the potential economic impact of Brexit (whether there is a deal with the EU or not) too; I wonder why Chancellor Philip Hammond is so reluctant to publish the Brexit impact reports that have been created by the Treasury; would the analyses revealed by data modeling (tax funded by the way) be too hard for die-hard Brexiteers to swallow? Or perhaps the Tories are so arrogant as to presume that not many people outside Westminster would not be bothered reading them? (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/26/philip-hammond-urged-publish-treasury-brexit-impact-studies). I hope next year that there will be a more concillatory attitude demonstrated by proponents of Brexit; one that acknowledges the concerns of Remain voters and works towards securing economic prosperity for everyone in the UK, not just people like Farage or Rees-Mogg.

The UK General Election and ensuing events have brought with them hope, disappointment and satisfaction. I have certainly more hope for a better future for the UK given the wide-ranging ideas that were contained in the Labour, Lib Dem, Greens and Women's Equality Party manifestos. There's no shortage of proposals that could be implemented (and lord knows whether the Tories will ever be bothered to implement them what with their current preoccupation with Hard Brexit) and there are some amazing MPs who are and I suspect will continue to try and make a difference to the lives of those who are Just About Managing to keep their heads above water financially speaking. I've been impressed by the wonderful Marsha de Cordova, who has become Labour's first dedicated Minister for Disabled People and Dawn Butler, Shadow Secretary of State for Equalities who both happen to be sassy, intelligent women of colour and who could both one day be viable candidates in the next Labour Leadership race.

However, I can't say that I've been entirely happy with all of Labour's policy announcements or the actions of certain Labour MPs (who shall remain nameless in this blogpost) this year. I'm still not convinced that Labour should be focussing efforts on renationalisation of our utilities (certainly not in their first term back in power anyways). Equally I am beginning to get the sense that Corbyn is in danger of developing a credibility gap (albeit primarily with older liberal minded voters at the moment) on the issue of Brexit; it's a gap that could continue to grow if Corbyn avoids discussing issues resulting from Brexit head-on. I can understand his reluctance to nail his colours to a particular mast; he doesn't want to alienate pro-Brexit voters based in Northern and Midland constituencies including ones that Corbyn want to win back like Mansfield (majority of 1,057) and Stoke-on-Trent South (majority of 663) yet at the same time he doesn't want to upset liberal minded voters in metropolitan constituencies and risk losing Scottish gains from the SNP including Midlothian (majority of 885) and Glasgow North East (majority of 242). The example of how Lincoln voted in the June General Election however should give Corbyn and his team some food-for-thought: Karen Lee, a nurse and City Councillor for Carholme Ward managed to defeat a hard-line Brexiteer Tory partly because of her willingness to talk openly about the UK remaining a member of the Single Market to protect jobs and workers' rights at hustings held across the city. I need not remind politicos in the Labour party that Lincoln constituents voted to Leave the EU in the Referendum yet there was an increased turnout at the polls in the 2017 GE compared with the 2015 GE which increased the number of voters for both Labour and the Tories and I would surmise that Labour won because Remain voters were energized to turn out and vote to turf out the Brexiteer. If it happened in Lincoln, it could happen in other constituencies that had similar voting percentages in the Brexit referendum. A recent poll conducted by YouGov for the Best for Britain campaign group also gives an indication of the anti-Brexit sentiments of Labour voters across the UK. The poll of 1,075 people who said they intend to vote Labour at the next General Election found that 63% would be delighted or pleased if Labour declared they will stop Brexit and remain in the EU, with only 21% opposing such a policy decision. 24% of respondents also said they would change their minds and vote for another party if Labour decides to proceed with the Brexit process (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/27/labour-voters-could-abandon-party-over-brexit-stance-poll-finds). Despite such emergence of anti-Brexit sentiments in the polls, Corbyn has kind of made hints recently that he himself won't back calls for a second referendum although Deputy Leader Tom Watson has said that “nothing has been ruled out” (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-says-labour-does-not-back-second-brexit-referendum_uk_5a44c3d7e4b025f99e19b252?utm_hp_ref=uk-politics). There is a real risk that a reluctance to allow voters to either have the final say on the Brexit deal or vote in a second referendum will alienate swing voters who had voted Remain in the EU Referendum in order to appease Brexiteer socialist and communist elements. I would argue that Corbyn should not only be advocating for at least a referendum on the deal but also push vigorously against the Tory version of Brexit that will leave voters who are classed as Just About Managing worse off. Corbyn has a duty to continue to fight to protect workers' rights from being eroded (in addition to continuing to talk about the new rights he would introduce including the banning of unpaid internships over 4 weeks and the banning of zero hours contracts). He should not be afraid to be more vocal about the potential danger economic or otherwise that may result from a Tory driven Hard Brexit. He needs to be promoting the efforts of Labour MPs to challenge the Government approach and his questions at Prime Minister's Questions need to framed more around questioning the Tory Brexit approach; for example, critiquing the Government over their hoarding of money for a No Deal Brexit when local authorities are seeing yet another deep cut to their funding streams, forcing them to push up council tax bills to help pay for local policing. The “constructive ambiguity” approach that Corbyn has adopted will only be effective for a short while longer; he needs to make a brave choice before his opportunity to enact social change passes him by.

Disability Rights:

Disabled people in Lincoln and across the UK have continued to bear the brunt of austerity measures this year:

• Just this month the High Court ruled that a change to the Personal Independence Payment affecting people with mental health conditions was unlawful and discriminatory (164,000 people should have received a higher amount of PIP) http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tory-refusal-hand-164000-people-11733688
• Loss of benefits has led to people having to crowdfund for basic equipment including wheelchairs (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/philip-hammond-disability_uk_5a39671de4b0578d1beb73a7).
• The Government was publicly rebuked by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) for its lacklustre approach towards fostering better rights for disabled people, concluding that the Government was “guilty of grave or systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities” (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/04/austerity-disabled-people-rights-uk-un-government). 60 recommendations were made within a 17 page report and there's little indication these recommendations have been used to inform Government policy going forward
• More children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are being home schooled in part due to a lack of school places (1,000 children are on the waiting list) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/30/uk-education-disabled-children-home-school-inclusion
• Chancellor Hammond was caught on record blaming an increase in disabled workers for the productivity crisis despite the fact that disabled people currently only make up 11.4% of the total number of workers in the UK and that for all the Tory bravado about improving employment figures, the “disability employment gap” between disabled workers and non-disabled workers has moved very little between July and September 2010 (31.26%) and April and June 2017 (31.35%) (http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/philip-hammond-disabled-people-workforce-responsible-for-productivity-problem-a8099436.html)
• Research by Scope has found that workers with a disability have to make 60% more applications to find a job compared with jobseekers without a disability.

It's really not good enough. Affirmative action needs to be taken to help empower disabled people and that means giving disabled people like myself and others the tools to enact change. I'm very much in favour of Marsha de Cordova's suggestion that there should be a public awareness campaign led by disabled workers which would include encouraging more small and medium sized businesses in rural areas to consider taking on apprentices who happen to have a learning disability or who are on the autistic spectrum and encouraging small and medium sized business owners and managers to attend training sessions so they are aware of the measures they can take to make reasonable adjustments in the workplace and understand the Access to Work Scheme. Equally the Tory Government should be made to promise that existing disability rights being brought into law through the Great Repeal Bill will not be eroded for the duration of this Parliament and to consider adopting aspects of the EU Accessibility Act which “would set new accessibility standards across Europe for ticketing and check-in machines for bus, rail and air travel, as well as for computers, ebooks and ecommerce” (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/12/marsha-de-cordova-disabled-minister-equality-battles and read more about the EU Accessibility Act here: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1202).

All public spaces and business premises, especially shops and restaurants should be accessible for disabled shoppers yet this is currently not the case; research by Scope has revealed that 75% of disabled people and their families had left a retail outlet or business premises because there were not making provisions for them, even though there is an existing legal requirement that businesses make reasonable adjustments to cater for disabled customers (https://news.sky.com/story/high-street-chains-exposed-on-shopping-trip-with-disabled-person-11184435). I hope the Government will consider strengthening the Equality Act so there is a duty on businesses that are customer-facing to have accessible facilities. That may send the necessary message to those businesses attempting to stall on making their premises more accessible.

Youthquakin':

The word of 2017 as decided by the Oxford English Dictionary is “Youthquake” and I have to say that I've been impressed by the sheer number of young people across the UK who have decided to make their voices heard, whether by attending anti-Trump and pro Feminism marches, by being brave enough to come out and talk about their ideas and opinions, risking bullying and harassment and discrimination as a result and by choosing to vote in the General Election. Very few political and cultural commentators thought that Corbyn's campaign could have energised and empowered so many but very few would now dare to underestimate the power of the Millennial and Generation Z vote. What was incredible in my own constituency was listening to a group of sixth form students choosing to debate vigorously and openly a few days before the election. Their passion for wanting to be part of the driving force that they believed could enact social change was truly inspiring and I am no longer as despairing for the future of the country at the end of the year than I was at the start because I know that even in a possible post-Brexit Britain there shall always be young people willing to stand up for liberal virtues of compassion, and openness.

Young people can generate some truly inspiring ideas and be amazing campaigners in their local communities and on a national level. Too often there are narrow-minded people out there who refuse to listen to them just because they consider them “too young” to be politically active. This cultural attitude needs to change. My hope is that in the coming year will see a commitment made by more liberal Conservative MPs towards giving young people aged 16 and 17 the right to vote and putting in place the education they need to help empower them to consider going to the polling stations. It cannot possibly be acceptable for a 16 year old to pay National Insurance, get married (albeit with parental consent) and not have the ability to help shape the policies that affect their day-to-day lives. Rather than disillusioning young people in our sixth form colleges, further education colleges and who are on an apprenticeship, we should be encouraging them to enjoy being citizens and that means continuing to energise them to vote.

LGBTQIA+ Rights:

Not much progress has been made on improving rights for non-binary or intersex people in the last year despite vigorous campaigning by activists. A national LGBT survey has been commissioned by the Government which is designed to help inform decision making going forward. There was meant to be a review of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to make it easier for trans people to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate but that seems be parked now till at least spring 2018 and the release of the LGBT survey results because of fears expressed by radical feminists and right wing media types. It seems 2017 has been defined by a real flaring-up of stereotyping and vitriol against trans and non-binary people with certain elements of the mainstream media (particularly The Sunday Times) eager to fan the flames of discord. A moral panic on heat so to speak has ensued. Some of the articles that have been published do betray a lack of even basic knowledge of legislation or terminology on the part of the journalists who wrote them whereas others were quite clearly crafted in a radical feminist vein, honestly reflecting the views of the writer. Whilst I am someone who understands the value of living in a society that respects freedom of speech and the right of newspapers to vet what they print relatively free from government control, I have at times this year questioned the judgment of some of the editorial teams involved and would caution them in the future not to give out the appearance of favouring a particular ideology (Radical Feminism is an ideology, after all) in order to pander to a particular group of readers. As the ever insightful David Levesley pointed out in his iNews opinion-ed “The media needs to stop weaponising children in their crusade against trans people”, the never ending stream of opinion-eds by cisgender people has been mostly unhelpful; trans rights campaigner Ashley Talbot stated quite rightly: “I have plenty of opinions about things but I don't have free reign to write about them in national newspapers and then claim I'm being silenced when people point out how offensive it is” (https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/media-needs-stop-weaponising-young-children-crusade-trans-people/). I am not naive enough to surmise that articles questioning trans people's right to be themselves will stop in their entirety but I do hope there will be more newspaper editors willing to publish articles penned by non-binary activists, experts and ordinary hard-working people or maybe perhaps editors who will consider taking on more non-binary columnists and journalists to better reflect the experiences of non-binary people across the UK. The talent is out there; editors just need to be bothered enough to seek them out. In the meantime, cis (and some trans) people opinion-eding should read the existing oeuvre of non-binary people and educate themselves before presuming to pass judgment on them. Think before you write!!!

Money:

The amount of income that working class people have across the UK to spend continues to be unsatisfactory. Latest figures released by the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) demonstrate just how woeful wage growth is in the UK compared with other countries: a study of OECD figures has revealed that the rate of wage growth in the UK will be “the lowest of any wealthy nation” with workers “seeing their earnings decrease by 0.7% in 2018 when inflation is taken into account (https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/dec/29/uk-to-sink-to-the-bottom-of-oecd-wage-growth-index-in-2018). The Resolution Foundation has also concluded that wage growth in real terms will stagnate in 2018, although they acknowledged the increase in the National Living Wage will help workers marginally. This is very worrying news for young workers already struggling to afford to pay their rent, utilities and food bills who hoped that the Conservatives would have introduced radical policies to help them in light of the GE result. The Lloyds survey conducted in November only confirms the nation's current feelings regarding the economy: “63% feel negative about the current state of inflation, up 14% since last November” and “2/3 feel negative about the UK economy” (https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/dec/27/zero-real-wage-growth-britain-end-2018-forecasts).

Low wage growth has inevitably meant more households turning to loan companies to provide them with the money necessary to pay for car repairs or rent deposits. Recent Labour research using statistics from the Office for National Statistics which includes student loan debts has found that “unsecured debt is on course to exceed £15,000 per household next year” (https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/dec/27/uk-household-debt-john-mcdonnell-warns-alarming-increase). The Guardian has already examined unsecured consumer credit debt and discovered there are 8.3m people in the UK classed as having a problem debt. Action is going to have to be taken to bring this number down, whether it be limiting access to credit for those who have already borrowed a certain amount of unsecured debt or are struggling to maintain payments and scrapping or at least capping the interest rate on consumer loans, including student loans (or at least scrap the 3% rate above inflation which is at 3% and costing students currently around £3,000 a year) so people are not saddled with an increasing burden which they may never have the means to pay off, thereby costing the taxpayer even more money (a proposal already suggested by David Willetts, the former universities minister who engineered the plan to raise fees to £9,000 a year).

Housing and Homelessness:

I have always believed that every person living in the UK deserves a comfortable, safe and secure place to live. Yet events this year have shown that we are far from achieving this dream of universal comfortable housing. The tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire demonstrated the inadequate fire safety and building regulations we currently have in the UK as well as the chronic shortage of affordable housing in metropolitan consistencies and the reluctance of certain housing organisations and local authorities to listen to and take action on legitimate safety concerns raised by tenants. There needs to be a cultural shift in the way social and council housing is managed as well as ensuring that high rise buildings of any nature have essential fire safety features built-in to their design. As the Lib Dems called for at their Autumn Conference, all high rise buildings should have sprinker systems fitted as standard, with fire retardant cladding fitted and annual fire drills planned for all residents (https://www.libdems.org.uk/conference-autumn-17-f21-safe-building-standards-for-all-homes). 

Councillors and managers of housing associations should also be held more accountable for their actions and forced to resign in the event of mismanagement, including ignoring tenant's valid safety concerns.

Thousands of people remain homeless in the UK at the end of this year. Current figures released by the Department for Communities and Local Government show that 15,290 households were accepted by local authorities as being homeless between the 1^st July and 30^th September with 79,190 households in temporary accommodation, up 65% from 48,010 in December 2010 (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/14/number-homeless-households-risen-official-figures). Many more families are classed as hidden homeless, sofa surfing with family members, friends and colleagues whilst they try and find an affordable place to call home. The number of homeless households with a family member with a mental health condition has risen from 3,200 in 2010 to 5,470 in 2017 and the number of homeless households with a family member with a physical health condition has risen from 2,840 in 2010 to 4,370 in 2017. Tens of thousands of young people have approached councils in England, Scotland and Wales because they are homeless or at risk of being made homeless. Figures released by 234 councils as a result of a Freedom of Information request by the Lib Dems have shown 45,000 18-24 year olds have approached their local authority in the past year yet with more than 100 councils not sharing information on youth homeless, the figure could be as high as 70,000 (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/25/tens-of-thousands-of-young-people-affected-by-homelessness-data-shows). The Government wants to block these young people from routinely collecting housing benefit, claiming that benefit payouts aren't sustainable (an ageist and heartless move from a Government that has implemented numerous ill-thought out, discriminatory policies) and instead are trying to minimise the effects of this policy decision by contributing to a “Fair Chance Programme” which has already been in place since September 2015 and will end in the next year and which only helps those young people defined as NEET (not in education, employment or training). The Fair Chance Programme interim reports have admitted that “securing and sustaining suitable accommodation (tenancies) for young people was widely seen as a prerequisite to progressing towards education, training, volunteering and employment outcomes” (p4) and the number of young people on the programme is small -1,909 young people were recorded as being on the programme as at December 2015 but pleasingly 1,637 had entered accommodation by December 2016 with 81% of those having achieved “a 6 month sustained tenancy”...https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/660583/Fair_Chance_Fund_interim_report_Year_Two.pdf). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fair-chance-fund-evaluation-interim-reports

Short-term piecemeal solutions are not going to help reduce the problem of homelessness. The Government should commit to building far more council houses than they have currently announced: new council homes with the cheapest rents are only being built at the rate of 6,800 a year (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/27/housing-crisis-could-radically-alter-uk-politics-says-ex-whitehall-chief-bob-kerslake) and these homes should have 5 year guaranteed tenancies as standard. Eviction is still the primary cause of homelessness (as a result of families not being able to pay the rent due to housing benefit cuts or losing their job) and local authorities should be given more funding to intervene now and pay outstanding rent arrears in order to prevent evictions, especially of families who are beholden to the Universal Credit system (which needs administrative change to become more efficient and process claims faster).

More thoughts:

2017 has taught me the continued value in trying to be compassionate to others who may not share the same views on life as myself. It can be hard to have the wherewithal to sit down with those who may never accept my gender identity as being separate from my sex assigned to me at birth or accept that I have an emotional attachment to my European and liberal identity that will never be severed, regardless of where Brexit happens in the end or not. I remember having an interesting conversation with an older gentleman in my ward, Birchwood who could neither accept my wish for the UK to remain in the EU nor my non-binary status. He did however want to talk to me about the value of a strong community: “it's a shame that people don't talk to their neighbours much anymore.....my Mum and Dad used to invite Mrs Samuels (the next door neighbour) to tea every Wednesday afternoon and they were always going to baptisms and marriages and funerals a few times a month. Everyone in the street looked out for each other. I don't know my neighbours next door at all...they just seem to play loud music a lot. I do feel lonely sometimes; I wish they'd come and speak to me”. The recent report on Loneliness, published by the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness made clear that the experiences of the gentleman I met were repeated across the UK: over 9 million adults said they are often or always lonely and according to Age UK, 3.6 million people in the UK aged 65 and over said that the television was their main source of company. Loneliness isn't something that affects older people either: Action for Children figures reveal that 47% of 17-25 year olds who are using Action for Children services have experienced problems with loneliness (https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/reports-and-publications/reports-and-briefings/active-communities/rb_dec17_jocox_commission_finalreport.pdf). There's far more we need to do as a country to tackle loneliness, with people across the country being empowered to set up community based projects that bring people together, whether through volunteering their skills or attending a tea dance or cookery class. In order for such projects to be viable, there needs to be a sustainable source of funding and I hope in the next year the Government will implement the recommendations of the Loneliness report and create an “innovation and spread fund” to provide seed funding for new community based projects as well as allowing existing projects to scale-up. I know such funding would be invaluable for projects based in Lincoln, particularly those that help to facilitate intergenerational dialogue and I would love to set up a project myself encouraging people from different political and social backgrounds to meet up and come up with their own community based projects; breaking down barriers and empowering people should be what I focus on in the next year – in the vein of Jo Cox, Jesus Christ and other inspirational folks with JC initials.

Conclusion:

Next year I hope there will be more of an effort to implement some of the solutions offered to the issues that have been so prevalent this year. We can all play our part in trying to reduce prejudice, stigma and suffering, whether that be volunteering for a few hours a week to help a local charity or third sector organisation with the planning and provision of services, spending some of our time speaking to others who do not share and may never share our own outlook on life and participating in local (and potentially national elections) to help shape policy ideas for the UK going forward. The best of humanity is often demonstrated in times of crisis and hardship and the resolve and kindness of many families who are Just About Managing towards others regardless of their background should be celebrated. The country continues to be plagued by low wage growth and unsustainable work opportunities; a report issued by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation stated that just under 400,000 more children and 300,000 more pensioners are considered to be in poverty than 5 years ago and 1 in 5 people living the UK are now classed as living in poverty. Yet kindness and compassion has not been rationed by people who find themselves in reduced circumstances. Those of us fortunate to have a stable household income stream, food and drink a plenty and opportunities to go out on leisure activities like shopping and clubbing without worrying about the heat and lighting bill should be proud to learn from those who have little but never seemingly complain about their situation. Christians have a responsibility to fight against poverty and whilst at times it may seem hopeless, hope for a brighter, better future is what keeps us strong. Brexit may be happening at the moment which many of us do not agree with but we should not give up trying to help others. Such compassion will be greatly appreciated in the coming year.