Anti Discrimination

Antisemitism

Antisemitism is shamefully prevalent in the Westminster political parties, and we will not repeat their disgraceful negligence toward it. We will fight all forms of antisemitism – both explicit and implicit, including antisemitic tropes and narratives – in Parliament, in our communities, and in civil society.

Islamophobia

Westminster has institutionalised Islamophobia, and now prominent voices are openly fomenting hate against Muslims. We stand against Islamophobia, and will not allow Islamophobic rhetoric to go unchallenged, or allow our communities to be divided by false narratives that demonise Muslims.

Ending the Hostile Environment

People who have lived most of their lives in Britain are being deported to countries they have little to no connection with (as has happened to Northerners from the Windrush Generation). This must end. We will dismantle the totalitarian Hostile Environment currently enacted by the Home Office, and so stop deporting people who have built lives here and end the inhumane treatment of refugees. Those who have been wrongly deported must be allowed to return.

We will fulfil the international law we have promised to uphold by providing refuge to all those who come to us fleeing oppression and conflict. No matter whether they are from Ukraine or Yemen, no one anywhere should be forced to stay in danger when we can offer them safety.

We will repeal the minimum income requirement for family visas. The right to family life is a right — not a privilege reserved for the rich. We will also end the policy of ‘no recourse to public funds’, a needlessly punitive measure which stops new arrivals from fully participating in society. All who live here should have access to help when they need it, and a little support at the start will allow new members of our society to contribute to it more quickly and to a greater degree.

We will scrap the Prevent programme that has been used to discriminate against ethnic minorities (particularly Muslims) under the false pretext of combatting terrorism. It has not improved public safety and puts people in harm's way by preventing them from accessing public services.

Anti-Racism

Racism has no place in our society. We believe that fighting racism is an integral part of creating an independent North that is free and equal. People of colour have always been a part of our society and will continue to be for as long as there is a North. We will oppose any and all new legislation or policies that disproportionately impact people of colour negatively, and we will reform existing legislation and policies that have this effect (including the police’s powers of stop and search, and discretionary school exclusions).

Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Communities

The persecution of our GRT communities would be recognised as morally wrong if applied to any other part of our society. As with all of our communities, our GRT communities are made up of individual people with varied hopes and dreams, and the prejudice they face is simple bigotry. The way to end our divisions and build a stronger North requires the same solution that works elsewhere: we must end the persecution and come together in mutual respect for our different ways of living.

We will revoke the sections of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that criminalise our GRT communities. We will go further and reform the Equality Act 2010 to address the discrimination faced by our GRT communities in consultation with these communities.

We will respect the decision to live a nomadic lifestyle by providing safe, secure, good quality campsites for whoever chooses to use them. We will foster nomadic participation in our society by allowing people to register for public services without a fixed abode, and we will simplify the existing process to do so for voting.

Anti-Ableism

We oppose all forms of ableism and will work to dismantle the structures that cause so much misery to disabled people in the UK. We follow the social model of disability, and believe that it is possible to build a more accommodating society where all can participate fully.

LGBTQ+ Rights

We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and will not tolerate homophobia or transphobia in society or within Parliament.

We will ban all forms of conversion therapy. The government has promised such a ban for years now but failed to act; we will actually deliver where they have hesitated.

We will reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow transgender people to gain a Gender Recognition Certificate without the need for a medical diagnosis; we will further expand the Act to recognise nonbinary identities in law. Administratively, we will streamline the process for gender recognition and where possible we will remove unnecessary requirements for a Gender Recognition Certificate.

We will also protect the right to equal marriage and civil partnerships for all, including mixed-sex civil partnerships.