Bev Craig has said she has spent her political career being told to 'grow her hair' and 'be less gay' as she spoke about her experiences as 'one of the most visible lesbians in politics' at a special Mayoral hustings on Tuesday evening (July 21).
The Labour Mayoral candidate said that for her 'pride is personal', as she joined the Green and Liberal Democrats candidates at the LGBTQ+ Hustings at The Church in Gay Village. Organised by the LGBT Foundation, only three of the candidates for the Mayoral elections attended: Bev Craig (Labour), Geraldine Coggins (Greens) and Richard Kilpatrick (Liberal Democrats), despite all candidates being invited. The Independent candidate Marcus Farmer and Conservative candidate Phil Eckersley apologised for not being able to make it. The foundation said it did not hear back from Restore candidate Sian Astley or Reform candidate Marlon West.
Opening statements and shared views
In her opening statement, Craig said she came to Manchester and quickly found a place where she could be herself. She said: "It's nice that we're having this in the Gay Village because like so many in our community, I came here at 18. I'd never been to Manchester before, I'm from the era when Queer As Folk was on the tele and I was attracted to Manchester and all it had to offer."
"When I came here, I quickly found a home and a place where I could be myself, and a place that ultimately gave me, a kid from a council estate with no money and connections, be able to go on and thrive. I've spent my life in politics being told maybe I should grow my hair or be less gay. But the reality is, as your mayor, I'll always stand up for what's right and I'll always stand up for what I believe in."
The trio widely agreed on all the issues brought before them, including increasing affordable housing, banning conversion therapy, funding pride parades and supporting trans rights.
Support for Prides in Greater Manchester
Bev Craig said: "For me, pride is personal. It reminds me of the day I knew I was wasn't alone. It reminds me of when I went to Belfast Pride and people were throwing rocks at us and the paramilitaries were kicking off in the side streets. And it reminds me that I looked around and I saw other people like me. I was an LGBT activist before I got involved in politics. I was involved in running an LGBTQ+ youth and student human rights organisation that took me to prides across Europe."
"It took me to places like Poland and Latvia where people were throwing stuff at us, in about 2006 or 2007. So pride is personal but it's also political and that's why it's so great to see, not just the big prides in Manchester but those local community prides growing, thriving and should have access to the same type of funding that every other community group does."
Geraldine Coggins said: "I want to do the same as Bev and go back to the first pride I went to. I think it was in 1995 and I was a teenager from Dublin where at that point we didn't have a very visible community. I went to San Francisco Pride and that is an experience you will never forget as a teenager from Dublin from the 1990s and it was just such a joyful, happy celebration of diversity and everything that the community has to offer."
"That's what it means to me, it's about joy, it's about inclusion and it's about visibility. It's about a community that has in the past felt the need to hide and I know still, sadly, often feels the need to hide and it's about that one month when we see 'no, we should be proud of all communities at all times'. We want that to be the normal that everyone is welcome to be themselves at all points. I'm planning to have a community development fund with £10million set aside for community groups to find out what your community needs and to get that going in your local area because our communities have been starved after years of austerity from the Tories and now from Labour."
Richard Kilpatrick said: "Pride to me is visibility, it's everything that makes the city region great. It's a celebration of diversity but it's also a protest. It's accepting, no we're not finished and there is further to go and that we are here and we are proud and we want to talk about the issues that are important to us. I think there's an elephant in the room, let's be honest. I think pride in this city lost its way. There is an issue with the fact that we still have artists that have not been paid properly, there is stuff that actually undermines pride as a protest if we don't treat it with the respect that it should have."
"I think this city, hopefully in the coming months will start to reclaim what pride meant to this city, which is a celebration of diversity and minorities. I think a democracy should be judged by how it treats its minorities, I genuinely believe that, and I think there's an opportunity for this city to lead from the front. In terms of how you support community pride, I think it's so important that we reach out and fund it through things like social value and community pots. Some councils have it and unfortunately others don't and we need to standardise that. One of the things that the Greater Manchester Mayor needs to do in the next year is use the power of convenience to bring those councillors together to make sure there is an opportunity to protest in every single borough across Greater Manchester."
Trans rights and hate crime
Responding to the issue of trans rights, anti-trans rhetoric and how lesbians are often stereotyped as being anti-trans, Bev Craig said: "It's a really important question and it's a question that, as one of the most visible lesbians in politics, has weighed on me really heavily. Because actually people try and put my community against one of the most marginalised and demonised communities that we see in society at the minute and it's just not right, it's just not representative of gay women that I know."
Both other candidates expressed similar views of supporting the trans community and wanting to reduce hate crime, with Ms Coggins calling for increased regulation online to reduce hate crime and far right rhetoric, and the Liberal Democrat candidate Mr Kilpatrick calling for greater scrutiny of Greater Manchester Police to ensure that hate crimes are properly reported and punished.
