Proposed by Councillor Phil Davies

Seconded by Councillor Adrian Jones

(1) This Council totally condemns the homophobic comments made on Facebook by a Wirral Conservative Councillor about Labour activists campaigning for Wallasey MP Angela Eagle.

(2) Council  welcomes the decision by Wirral’s Conservative Party locally to suspend him and demands that David Cameron take decisive action to show that homophobia has no place in modern politics today by expelling Councillor Knowles from the Conservative Party forthwith.

(3) Council believes that Councillor Knowles has demonstrated that he is no longer fit to be a councillor and should therefore resign his seat and allow the electorate of Seacombe to vote for a candidate who is free from prejudice and bigotry.

(4) Council also notes the position taken by Conservative MP Chris Grayling when he stated that Christian bed and breakfast owners should be able to refuse admission to gay couples.

(5) Council again calls on David Cameron to condemn such comments and to take a stand against homophobia within his own party. Failing any such action, Council can only conclude that the Conservatives of today are no different from those of yesterday and that beneath the shiny PR image lies a party still riddled with xenophobia, prejudice and bigotry whose interests lie firmly with the wealthiest members of society and whose actions on the economy will protect business interests and damage the interests of ordinary families for whom they have scant regard.

The movers of the motion accepted the following friendly amendment:

Proposed by Councillor Stuart Kelly

Seconded by Councillor Simon Holbrook

Add to end of paragraph (4):

Council again calls on David Cameron to condemn such comments and take a stand against homophobia within his own party.

Replace paragraph (5) with the following:

(5) However, Council notes with dismay the voting record of those Conservative MPs seeking re-election when it comes to LGBT rights.

  (i)  One in six, voted in favour of Section 28 in 1988. A sixth voted against its repeal in 2003 including David Cameron and a third of the Shadow Cabinet.

  (ii)  One in three voted to allow only heterosexual, married couples to adopt in 2002 including seven members of the Shadow Cabinet.

 (iii)  One in three voted against the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations in March 2007 which allows the Secretary of State to make regulations defining discrimination and harassment on grounds of sexual orientation. This included thirty-three, or a third of frontbenchers and four of the Shadow Cabinet.

  (iv)  The Conservative Party opposed The Equality Bill 2008-09. Nineteen members of the Shadow Cabinet joined attempts to block the bill which will introduce a single 'public duty' requiring all publicly-funded bodies to proactively promote equality across the board and remove barriers to fair service provision.

Amendment submitted in accordance with Standing Order 7(2):

AMENDMENT

Proposed by Councillor Ian Lewis (7 minutes)

Seconded by Councillor Sue Taylor (3 minutes)

Delete paragraphs (2) to (5) inclusive and in paragraph (1) delete all after, ‘This Council totally condemns the homophobic comments made’ and insert, ‘by any elected representative, following an investigation, and the attitudes of parties, not least the British National Party, which is seeking election to five wards in Wirral on May 6th.

Council condemns the remarks by Wirral BNP MEP Nick Griffin who said in 1999 that gay people flaunted "their perversion" and said this showed why "so many ordinary people find these creatures so repulsive" and when, in 2003, he denounced homosexuality as a "form of behavioural deviancy" and in 2004 in remarks by the BNP made to Outnorthwest - the LGF's monthly magazine - "Prior to 1967 homosexuality was a crime and led to prison. It is unnatural and an undesirable lifestyle which can only be remotely tolerated if the current law is obeyed i.e: consenting adults IN PRIVATE. The constant promotion of this queer lifestyle on TV, soaps, radio, news papers etc as something which it is not - equivalent to heterosexism (sic) - drains my tolerance and I find the entire topic revolting, disgusting and scary. Queers should remain celibate and don't talk about it. You should all be ashamed of yourselves."

Council also condemns the remarks by the current leader of the ex-communist Bulgarian Socialist Party, Sergey Stanishev, when he condemned Bulgaria’s first-ever Pride parade, saying that he did not like 'the manifestation and demonstration of such orientations' (Reuters, 28 June 2008) and the remarks by a leading MP in the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party when he claimed 'as a doctor, I think that [homosexuality] is a disease' (Pink News, 28 February 2007).

Following the debate, and Councillor P Davies having replied to it, the amendment was put and lost with the Council dividing as follows:

For the amendment (19) - Councillors T Anderson, SL Clarke, WA Duffey, GJ Ellis,  JE Green, P Hayes, AC Hodson, PSC Johnson, J Keeley, I Lewis, SR Mountney, C Povall, A Pritchard, Mrs LA Rennie, SL Rowlands, S Taylor, GCJ Watt, S Williams and Mrs K Wood.

Against the amendment (31) - Councillors RL Abbey, I Coates, JA Crabtree, G Davies, PL Davies, F Doyle, S Foulkes, G Gardiner, J George, PN Gilchrist, SA Holbrook, AT Jennings, A Jones, SE Kelly, B Kenny, M McLaughlin, GD Mitchell, RK Moon, Redfern, J Quinn, PTC Reisdorf, DE Roberts, J Salter, H Smith, PA Smith, WW Smith,  JV Stapleton, A Taylor, CM Teggin, R Wilkins, KJ Williams.

Abstentions (10) (Councillors, C Blakeley, K Hayes, L Fraser, A McLachlan, B Davies, C Meaden, A Bridson, S Niblock, P Southwood and P Williams abstained from voting and did not participate in the debate in the light of advice received from the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management, that members of the Standards Committee should not express a view at this stage. Councillor T Harney left the chamber for the consideration of this Notice of Motion. It was noted that Councillor Knowles had referred himself to the Standards Committee).

The motion was put and carried (31:19) (10 absts) (Councillors, C Blakeley, K Hayes, L Fraser, A McLachlan, B Davies, C Meaden, A Bridson, S Niblock, P Southwood and P Williams abstaining).