General Election 2010

The General Election will be upon us soon. It could be a close-run thing, so the votes of LGBT people could be more critical than ever.

If you support the aims of CHE, could we please ask you to e-mail or write to the various prospective candidates for your own constituency, to ask what they propose to do for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Note: to get a list of your local candidates, go to the Guardian website at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/general-election-2010 and type your postcode into the box provided.

You might like to include the following questions (and we’d very much appreciate a copy of any answers you receive):

1. The Human Rights Act

The Human Rights Act has been very important in defending the equal rights of LGBT people. Will you undertake to keep it in force? Or if you propose to replace it, will you ensure that any new law will not undermine the rights already acquired by LGBT people, or lead to their unequal treatment? (Background to Question 1)

2. Civil Partnerships

Do you agree that it is wrong and contrary to religious freedom to ban individual religious authorities (for instance Quakers, Liberal Judaism) from using their premises to register civil partnerships, just because other religious bodies won't do this? (Background to Question 2)

3. Married Trans People

Married people wishing to change their gender have to dissolve their marriage before they can get a Gender Recognition Certificate. Will you undertake to remove this anomaly, which undermines the permanence of marriage and is offensive to those trans people who wish to remain married? (Background to Question 3)

4. Asylum seekers

Will you support the human rights of persecuted gays and lesbians – for instance in Uganda – and the right of asylum for any LGBT person in justified fear of persecution? (Background to Question 4)

5. Equality in Goods and Services

Will you undertake not to block the negotiations now going on for a general new EU Directive to introduce equality EU-wide in the provision of goods and services? (Background to Question 5)

6. Lesbian and Gay School Pupils

What steps will you take to ensure that all schools, including private schools and faith schools, will show respect for their lesbian and gay pupils and avoid condemning same-sex relationships? (Background to Question 6)

7. LGBT Teachers

What steps will you take to ensure that LGBT teachers, of any subject, are not at risk from faith school authorities because their life style is condemned by the school’s religious ethos? (Background to Question 7)

8. Public Services

Do you agree that services offered to the public, or on behalf of and paid for by the public, should not be withheld because of the religious beliefs of those involved in providing the services? (Background to Question 8)

9. Treatment of Trans People

Will you seek to ensure that all transgendered and intersex people – not just those with Gender Recognition Certificates – are protected from discrimination and harassment? (Background to Question 9)