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“Don’t rain on our parade”, LGBT Labour urge Boris

July 3, 2012 5:10 pm

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The following open letter has been sent from LGBT Labour to Boris Johnson:

Dear Boris

On Saturday the eyes of the world will be on London for Pride. Millions of people from across the world will gather in our great capital for World Pride to celebrate the spirit of equality and to send a signal that homophobia is not acceptable.

This is the first time London has hosted World Pride, an honour for Britain not just the LGBT community.

In the year of national hero Alan Turing’s centenary, the Jubilee and when London is hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is inconceivable that World Pride will be a shadow of its potential due to an organisational dispute.

Pride has always been about hope – about achieving a better world; expressing our diversity; and being proud and defiant against bigotry. World Pride is an opportunity to celebrate the progress we have made on equality, as well as to party. It is a message of hope to young LGBT people in fear of bullying and to the LGBT community around the world that we will stand in solidarity with your cause for human rights. And in this year, it is also an opportunity to make the case for equal marriage.

But Pride needs more than hope. It also needs the practical support of community groups, sponsors, and the relevant authorities. We urge you to use your power as Mayor to get Westminster City Council back to the table with the organisers of London Pride and sort this out. We understand sponsors are willing to come forward and close the financial gap. Now we need political will to get the procession back on track.

Boris, in the words of the song: don’t rain on our parade.

Yours sincerely

James Asser

Co-chair, LGBT Labour

Hannah Blythyn

Co-chair, LGBT Labour

Michael Cashman MEP

Clive Betts MP

Chris Bryant MP

Lord Collins of Highbury

Tom Copley AM

Len McClusky

General Secretary, Unite the Union

Diana Holland,

Assistant General Secretary, Unite the Union

Ged Nicholls,

General Secretary, Accord

Maria Exall,

Chair, TUC LGBT Committee

Deirdre Costigan

Co-chair, Unison LGBT Committee

Linda Roy,

CWU National Equalities Officer

Stewart Brown,

LGBT Rep, Fire Brigades Union Executive Council

Richard Angell,

Community Representative TUC LGBT Committee

Robert Philpott,

Director, Progress

Jenny Douglas,

Chair, Unite Scottish LGBT committee

Laurie Smith,

CWU Representative TUC LGBT Committee

David Braniff-Herbert

GMB National Young Members Representative

Simon Weller,

National Organiser, Aslef

Brian Shaw,

Chair, GMB National Equality Forum

Sandie Maile,

Chair, Shout London

Anne Ruzylo,

Prison Officers Association

Gordon Marsden MP

Sue Stelfox

Prospect representative, TUC LGBT committee

Chris Bryant MP

Andrew Pakes

Labour & Co-operative Parliamentary Spokesperson for Milton Keynes

Betty Gallacher

Chair, Unite LGBT Committee

Tim Poil

General Secretary, Nationwide Group Staff Union

Ann Morgan

Unite Rep, TUC LGBT Committee

Rachel Doyle,

UCU Rep, TUC LGBT Committee

Anne Ruzylo

POA Rep, TUC LGBT Committee

Steve Reed,

Leader of Lambeth Council

Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury

Guest

Chris Bryant agrees with this letter so much that he signed it twice!
- treborc
  
  One day somebody may well say lets take something to Manchester or Cardiff not London
charles.ward

Can anyone inside the bubble explain what issue prompted this letter and what Boris can do about it?
jaime taurosangastre candelas

It is disappointing that all of these high price people signing the letter cannot actually state what the specific issue is with this parade. I would imagine that Boris’ secretary would throw it into the rubbish bin, as it is literally pointless.

Also, today is Tuesday. The letter writers want some change of action or policy by Saturday, when the event is held. This seems to be leaving things to very late, but no one knows what the issue is, or what the desired change of policy is.

It seems like mere opportunism, or if not that, incompetence. Is there a missing paragraph?

I sometimes receive letters (of complaint, or praise) for my department from members of the public. A proportion of them are so incoherent that – despite really wanting to try to decipher the actual message – it is impossible (and those I cannot decipher I always pass to a colleague to see if his mind can crack the mystery). There is no requirement on us to respond at all (we have a whole external relations department to do that), but even so, we do try to respond to all letters. There does come a point when it is a total waste of time.
- KonradBaxter
  
  It does feel like there is a mssing paragraph or they expect everyone to know what is going on with this event in detail.
ManchesterMaddy

I don’t understand what this actually means. Are they asking Boris for money? Or are they saying that the financial shortfall in his fault in some other unspecified way?
JoeDM

What exactly is the point of this letter?
KonradBaxter

I *think* it is related to issues they just about but hardly raise here:
http://www.pridelondon.org/news/

No floats, finish at Trafalgar at 6, nothing in SoHo afterwards, one event cancelled. Smaller and shorter than before but it’s not really clear why.

An open letter really does need to be clear in what it says though otherwise what is it for? What do they want? Cash? Assistance? More media coverage? No one seems sure so perhaps they could release another statement explaining what this open letter is about?

What is the ‘organisational dispute’? What ‘practical support’ do they need? If sponsors will cough up what is the issue?
David MacDonald

What does this mean? It means that the London Public are indifferent or vaguely hostile the never-ending bellyaches of “gays” and won’t cough up the required dosh so Boris is being urged to donate some more council payers’ hard earned money to save the day.
ovaljason

This letter gives a clue to what the underlying problems really are : incompetence, poor clarity of thought and last-minute planning amongst the Pride organisers.

I am embarrassed for the signatories of this letter. Any fool knows an open letter must offer an overview of the situation for the uninitiated. This letter is incomprehensible – people like Bryant have clearly signed without reading.

For those that are interested in how Pride have ended up in this mess, the gay press offers plenty of coverage as to the dangerously-out-of-their-depth people running this year’s event.
Bill Lockhart

” Millions of people from across the world will gather in our great capital for World Pride”

Perhaps a touch of hyperbole.

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