Message of support to ‘March for a Future that Works’ in London, Glasgow and Belfast

Dear friends in the United Kingdom

We wish to convey our support and solidarity to the thousands of people who will be on the ‘March for a Future that Works’ in London, Glasgow and Belfast. This protest against the austerity policies of the Government and a call for an alternative economic strategy that puts people first is close to our heart. Indeed, many hundreds of LGBTI people are gathered this week in Dublin at the 16th Annual conference of ILGA-Europe where the theme is ‘Advancing LGBTI Equality in Challenging Economic Times’

LGBTI people know that the austerity agenda is standing in the way of the jobs and growth that the UK needs. More and more LGBTI people are losing their jobs and seeing cuts to LGBT services that have taken years to develop. Switchboards, youth groups, education, health services, hate crime and domestic abuse services, LGBT centres: the list goes on. This has real consequences for LGBT people as many of these are essential services that save lives. We are also sad that the UK government are unravelling the equality gains of the last decade.

We are sorry that we cannot be with you in person today but we are with you in spirit and hope that the ‘March for a Future that Works’ will encourage politicians to rethink their policies.

Yours in solidarity,

Delegates at the ILGA-Europe Annual Conference 2012