Liberal Youth Wales welcomes “an end in sight” to homophobic bullying

Liberal Youth Wales campaigners can see an “end in sight” to the homophobic silence in schools.

Last year they took a petition to the National Assembly Petitions Committee, calling for compulsory homophobic bullying guidance in schools.  The Petitions Committee will now be writing to the Education Minister to press him for a date on the release of this guidance, which has been promised for the past two years.

Sian Anne Cliff, Communications Officer, said, “It is great news. We’ll have to wait till after the election, but now any new Government in Wales will have to take action on this issue. I am still disappointed it has taken so long to get any action, but the Petitions Committee has been more than helpful.  When concerned people can take their worries to the Government and have those worries dealt with, it is a great example of democracy in action that we can be really proud of.”

For two years, Liberal Youth Wales have been campaigning for compulsory homophobic bullying guidance in schools. The figures, they say, speak for themselves. 75% of teenagers bullied for being gay in faith schools, 65% bullied in state schools.

Oliver Townsend, Campaigns Officer, said, “It is a huge issue. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered children should never be terrified of going to school. They should never have to make a choice between their happiness, or their education. This campaign is about changing that. I am delighted that our petition has been dealt with so thoroughly by the Petitions Committee. I know that any new Government in May will be pressed into action by that committee. There is now an end in sight for the thousands of gay people who have been bullied in their schools.”

With many bullied gay teenagers attempting self-harm or suicide, this issue is seen as one of the most important final steps for acceptance of gay people in Wales.

Oliver Townsend finished by calling for all political parties to support the campaign.

“We’re entering the Welsh General Election now. I really hope all four main parties in Wales can rally around these proposals. I am pleased that the Welsh Liberal Democrats were the first party to support this policy, but we hope other parties will join them. It is a simple, easy action to take and it would make an immense difference to the lives of our teenagers. I will be writing to all the political parties, asking them for a commitment to support this policy when elected.”

The time has come for me to pass on the baton – Smith

In the run up to the Liberal Youth Wales elections, current Chair Matt Smith has announced that he will not be seeking re-election.

Matt, who became Chair last year, explained his decision, “I have taken on exciting new roles in the Welsh Liberal Democrats over the last few months. The most exciting of all is the fact that I will be contesting the Assembly Election in Cardiff North in May and I want to focus my efforts on that, so naturally the time has come for me to pass on the baton to the next chapter of Young Welsh Liberalism.”

“Details of how to stand in the 2011 Executive Elections will soon be mailed to all members and details will be made available online too, so watch this space!”

Welsh Lib Dem MPs united against tuition fee rises

Though yesterday’s vote in the Commons did not go the way most students here in Wales wanted it to, Liberal Youth Wales are delighted that all Welsh Liberal Democrat MPs voted against the rising of tuition fees.

Mark Williams, MP for Ceredigion, Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, who resigned from the Government payroll to vote against, were applauded by Liberal Youth Wales members for their actions.

Commenting, Matt Smith, Chair of Liberal Youth Wales said, “Our members were very vocal about their opposition to these plans, but I hope that they can find some comfort in the fact that all three Welsh Liberal Democrat MPs voted against rising fees.

“Considering that over 100 Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidates have said they oppose a rise in fees since the election, perhaps if more of our Parliamentary Candidates had been elected, the vote could have been closer or even overturned.”

“The battle must now be to ensure that Higher Education becomes as fair as possible so that we can offset the damage that higher Fees can do to encouraging people to go to University. We must raise the repayments threshold as high as possible, and keep the interest rates as low as possible, and I look forward to working with the Liberal Democrats in the Government to achieve the fairest system possible now that fees have risen.”

Welsh Lib Dems vote to oppose Browne report

Liberal Youth Wales members today encouraged and joined members of the Welsh Liberal Democrats in opposing the “wholesale implementation of the Browne Review of Higher Education.

Homophobic bullying battle goes to Petitions Committee

Liberal Youth Wales’ battle against homophobic bullying has started an attack on another flank – the Petitions Committee of the Welsh Assembly.

Chair Matt Smith said on the announcement: “The problem we had last year was that the Labour Education Minister fobbed us 0ff. So we are trying new approaches to try and speed up the process of the Assembly Government actually taking notice of this awful issue.”

To sign the petition, visit this link.

Draft constitution for 2010 released

You will find the draft Liberal Youth Wales Constitution for 2010 available at the link at the end of this post.

Any member can submit an amendment to this draft constitution and it holds no authority until it is voted through at the Liberal Youth Wales Annual General Meeting on the 16th October at Welsh Liberal Democrat Spring Conference.

Welsh Liberal Democrats President’s Awards

Nominations have opened for the President’s Awards Ceremony, which celebrates excellence in the Welsh Liberal Democrats, to be held at the party’s Autumn Conference in November.

AMs join fight against homophobia with Liberal Youth Wales

SIGN THE PETITION ONLINE HERE!

Liberal Youth Wales’ campaign for anti homophobic bullying guidance has taken a huge step forward after three Liberal Democrat Assembly Members announced their full support for the campaign.

Four hundred festival goers speak out against “disgusting neglect” over homophobic bullying

Liberal Youth Wales’ anti-homophobia campaign “Homophobia is Still Gay” was swamped by festival goers at the Cardiff Mardi Gras over the weekend. The petition calling for action against homophobic bullying in Welsh schools was hugely popular and gained over 400 signatures in a single day.

Young Lib Dems’ fury at Welsh Assembly’s neglect on homophobic bullying

Liberal Youth Wales today announced they are relaunching their campaign for homophobic bullying guidance, revealing that the Welsh Assembly Government had promised everything and done nothing towards stamping it out.