Sack Theresa

So, why are we still campaigning?

May 23rd, 2010 by Jane received 2 Comments »

While we greatly welcomed Theresa May’s change of opinion on QT, and do not doubt her sincerity, there are still a few valid concerns we have and do not feel that her statement has yet gone far enough, since:

1) She has only explained her new views on gay adoption (not even by expressing a belief that same-sex couples are equally capable, but that they are the lesser of two evils between institutionalisation and having homosexual parents).

2) She has yet to explain why she voted consistently against LGBT rights in the past (for a full outline of her voting record, see our website http://www.sacktheresamay.co.uk/)

3) She has yet to explain why she changed her mind on each of these issues (adoption aside)

4) She has yet to apologise for these votes, choosing instead to explain them away by saying they were ‘some years ago’, brushing away the fact her votes were consistent over 11 years and as recent as Oct. 2008 (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill)

5) Therefore, even if we are to assume she has genuinely changed her mind on each and every one of these issues, symbolically she is still a poor choice.

This symbolism is important since, where a public servant has a responsibility to promote fairness to a certain section of society, public confidence in that official requires that there be no appearance of prejudice which might taint the proper exercise of her duties. Moreover, when such public confidence is not held then, regardless of the strength of the grounds of such a complaint, the group that feels discriminated against will feel incredibly ostracised.

Therefore, both in the interests of Theresa May‘s ability to fulfil her duty properly, and in the interests of the mental well-being of the LGBT community, we feel that a statement explaining her current views would be immensely beneficial.

This statement, in the form of an affidavit, would explain her regret of her previous voting record; provide a full explanation of her previous views in each instance and of how and why she has changed her mind; contain a pledge for the furtherance of LGBT rights; and, most importantly, an apology.

Once this has been done, only then can we judge her based on her actions, for who are we to declare that she a liar, intrinsically unfit for the job? But until such a statement is released, we feel we are justified in continuing are campaign.

Tommy Peto

Campaign Co-Founder

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Theresa May: I’ve changed my mind

May 21st, 2010 by Jane received 6 Comments »

Tonight we witnessed quite an extraordinary event on national television: a Facebook campaign caused a senior government minister to announce that she had “changed her mind” concerning gay adoption rights. I am, of course, referring to Theresa May’s response when confronted by a teenager on Question Time regarding her gay rights voting record. This is very much welcomed by the campaign. We view this as an enormously positive step, and do not question her sincerity. Debate, discussion and disagreements are some of the best things about our society, and the ability to change one’s mind through this process is a very important part of good governance. That Theresa May has shown this willingness is undoubtedly a good thing.

This doesn’t stop us questioning her record, however, and we will continue to do so. Before being caught off guard on national television, we sent her an email informing her of our campaign and asked if she had any response. Though we would gladly have been informed about her new views, sadly she never replied. Her dismissal of previous votes as being ”some years ago” seems intriguing. Whilst we accept that she may have recently changed her mind, we question why she still voted against the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill as recently as 2008, giving lesbian couples equal fertility rights. This was a free vote: the fact that she voted against shows that, to a certain extent, she genuinely held these beliefs independently of any external pressure. More importantly, this was only 17 months ago. This was not the Theresa May under the party obligations of 1997, this was Theresa May the free agent of 2008. If she had held this perspective consistently for 11 years, including recent votes, why are we to assume she has changed her views? There is the full research of her voting patterns, which has been consistent over her time in parliament, on our website now: www.sacktheresamay.co.uk. The one time we see a change is over the issue of Civil Partnerships, when David Cameron extended the party whip and put extreme pressure on the front bench to vote in favour. Indeed, Theresa May did vote in favour, and we welcomed this. But it doesn’t change the fact that she was absent for many important votes (see our full documentation) and so we would still question her commitment to the cause of equality. The fact that she was absent for the vote on the Equality Bill in 2005 doesn’t speak well for her level of interest in this area.

David Dimbley first directed the question of Theresa May’s voting record at Shami Chakrabarti. She, it appeared, did not seem to be aware of Theresa’s voting record, saying only that the Home Secretary should “speak for herself”. What does this tell us? That we still have a lot to do to expose her voting patterns and promote this debate. May is aware of our petition, and is probably also aware that it’s gaining ground. To have taken this issue so far is already an achievement, and raising awareness through this campaign is one of the most important aims we have. It’s indicative of something very positive when the two people who seemed to know the most about what was being discussed – Theresa’s voting record – were two young people. They could quote the very Bills she had opposed. It goes to show that if young people believe in affecting change, it can be done through young people’s media.

For these reasons, we are calling for a full explanation of her views and an apology for her previous voting record in the form of an affidavit. We still regret her appointment, since, symbolically, she is not a positive candidate whom we can trust to continue the progress made over the last few years. We will continue to raise awareness and to call for her resignation. We will be telephoning her tomorrow to present our proposal.

Jane Cahill and Tommy Peto of SackTheresa
20th May 2010

Posted in News | 6 Comments »

Theresa May’s Voting Record on LGBT Rights ̵...

May 20th, 2010 by Rachel received No Comments »

In general Theresa May has voted with the Conservative Party line meaning, with the exception of the Civil Partnerships Bill, she has voted against the furtherance of LGBT rights. Similarly, whenever there has been a free vote (Sexual Offences [Amendment] Bill – equalising the age of consent; Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill – equal fertility rights; Local Government Bill – repeal of section 28) she has voted consistently against LGBT rights. Download the .pdf file for evidence of her voting record.

Download file.

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68,000+ call for Resignation.

May 20th, 2010 by Jane received No Comments »

We have reached 68,000 members on Facebook- that’s more than David Cameron and indeed Gordon Brown. Sadly, Theresa May did not respond to our letter informing her of the campaign, despite growing media attention and the rapid growth of the campaign in the last few days. London based radio station LBC covered our story today:

http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=3017

What is more we now have 28,500 signatures on the petition. Keep signing!

http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/36217.html

Dave Younger writes in The Socialist:

“The new coalition government has appointed former Conservative Party Chairman Theresa May as Equality Minister despite her horrendous voting record on LGBT rights. She voted against the repeal of Section 28 and against the lowering of the age of consent for gay men to 16. She also voted against adoption rights for same-sex couples and against the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which would give lesbian couples the ability to
receive fertility treatment, as did the new Conservative Prime Minister. In addition she abstained from a vote on the Gender Recognition Act that allows transsexuals to change their legal gender. This distrubing news follows quick on the heels of several widely publicised homophobic slurs from the mouths of Tory MPs that have led directly to the resignation of Anastasia Beaumont-Bott as the LGBT campaign organiser for the Conservative Party. It is also worth mentioning that the Conservative Party aligns itself with extremist right-wing parties in Europe that support anti-gay laws such as the one recently introduced in Lithuania. Party politics aside, it is perfectly obvious that in the light of Ms. May’s voting record her appointment to the post of Home Secretary for Women and Equality is highly inappropriate. I feel that all of us who oppose out-dated bigotry in politics should be calling for her immediate resignation. The “Sack Theresa” campaign has already begun in earnest online and a petition to the new Prime Minister will be presented to Downing Street in the coming days, which 45000 people have already signed. To join the campaign or to add your signature to the petition simply visit sacktheresamay.co.uk or alternatively write to your local MP to lobby parliament or write directly to the Prime Minister’s Office. Monday the 17th of May is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia and I feel that such an act of protest would be a fitting way for people of all walks of life to mark this historic occasion.”

Thanks for all the support so far.

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Junior Equality Minister Lynne Featherstone Speaks

May 17th, 2010 by Jane received 1 Comment »

In a response to our campaign, the Junior Minister has said:

“I know there has been a lot of concern as to Theresa May’s track record on voting on LGB and T issues – and indeed a facebook group against her has already grown to around 50,000. She crucially voted the right way – for civil partnerships. And I believe that she and the Conservatives will use the opportunity of this coalition with us – to move forward. Time will tell. But it is easy in the Liberal Democrats to be liberal – Theresa has had a much harder road in the Conservatives to bring change. So I give her and the Conservatives the benefit of any doubt to be new Conservatives – shedding hopefully their old reputation – and moving into the light with us!

I think there is a genuine desire to work together and I go forward in good heart.”

Of course she is completely and utterly incorrect. Our group has reached 60, 000+ members.

Although we can’t blame her, its growing so fast.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnefeatherstone.org%2F2010%2F05%2Fequalities.htm&h=0bcc5

Tags: Featherstone, May
Posted in News | 1 Comment »

Day 4: Blogosphere Ignites

May 15th, 2010 by Jane received No Comments »

Welcome to Day 4 in the call for Theresa to step down from her position as Equalities Minister. It’s truly picking up pace as more that 45,000 have joined the group and the signatures reach the 17,000 level. The most exciting thing? Both these figures will be quite wrong by tommorrow. Our focus now is on drawing as much attention as possible to signing the petition.

Remember: this is not an anti-Tory campaign. This campaign is about ensuring that the we have the right person in office to promote the cause of equality in this country. We do not feel that Theresa May is that person, and there are alternatives.

The Petition:

“We, the undersigned, call on Theresa May to resign, or be removed, from her post as Minister for Equality for the United Kingdom.

We believe that Theresa May should not occupy the post of Equality Minister when she has a voting record that attempted to deprive the homosexual community of their rights, and limit their rightful position as equals within our society.

We feel that, in light of this, she is not appropriate for the position as she has not been a positive force for the cause of equality in this country. Her appointment is symbolically counter-productive as it suggests that there is not a more appropriate person for the job who has been positively campaigning for gay rights.”

We would also question her commitment to implementing effective change in this country considering her own views. Her appointment is therefore both intrinsically and instrumentally unacceptable.

Therefore, we ask for her immediate resignation from this post and for her replacement with a more suitable candidate.

So, as our campaign reaches 45,000 people on facebook, the blogs have caught on.

http://www.gaycritic.co.uk/2010/05/15/42000-people-call-for-david-cameron-to-sack-theresa-may-dubbed-the-homophobic-equality-minister/

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2010/05/sack-homophobic-theresa-may-facebook-group-clocks-up-32000-supporters/

http://acidrabbi.blogspot.com/2010/05/theresa-may-not-believe-in-equality-for.html

We need to keep pushing the petition and sending out letters to David Cameron and local MPs.

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