By Martha Moss - 20th July 2010
Now Conservative MEPs need to vote not against, not by abstaining, but by supporting equality measures in the European parliament
Michael Cashman
UK Conservative MEPs in the parliament's ECR group have been urged to do more to support the fight against sexual discrimination.
The call, from British socialist deputy Michael Cashman, follows the success of a lesbian and gay rally in the Polish capital Warsaw last weekend.
It was the first time the annual EuroPride event had been held in a former Iron Curtain country, and it was attended by Britain's policing minister Nick Herbert.
The presence of Herbert, who is Britain's most senior openly gay politician, has been seen by some as an attempt by the UK Conservatives to distance themselves from their right-wing allies in the European parliament's ECR group.
Cashman, the co-president of the European parliament's intergroup on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights told this website, "I'm pleased that Nick Herbert attended EuroPride in Warsaw, and I'm extremely pleased to see that the Conservative party appears to follow the equality footsteps of the previous Labour government.
"But now Conservative MEPs [in the ECR group] need to vote not against, not by abstaining, but by supporting equality measures in the European parliament."
Fellow LGBT co-president, Austrian Greens MEP Ulrike Lunacek said it was "incredibly positive" that the pan-European event took place in a former Communist country.
"Not only does it constitute a very important signal for eastern Europe that mentalities do slowly change, but it also shows how membership of the European Union can facilitate this change," she said.
"When I think of the support expressed by Jerzy Buzek, the Polish president of the European parliament, earlier this year, LGBT rights in Poland and across the EU are truly becoming part of mainstream politics."
Herbert said he hoped that other political parties would learn from the Tories' changing attitudes.
"I know that in some countries social attitudes are evolving more slowly," he said.
"We ourselves have further to go to ensure equality in the UK. I also believe that part of living in a tolerant society is to show respect for the proper exercise of individual conscience and religious belief.
"But I hope that when others see how the Conservative party has changed under David Cameron's leadership, reaching out to people and communities which we couldn't reach before, they will be encouraged to take the same course."
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