South Lakes Labour Westmorland & Lonsdale Constituency Labour Party
At our July all members’ meeting the following Motion was agreed unanimously
This CLP notes:
(1) Tim Farron was absent from Parliament due to a prior engagement on the evening of Monday 16th July.
(2) The prior engagement was a lecture at Sherborne Abbey about whether his religious beliefs are compatible with being a LibDem.
(3) This absence meant he was unable to participate in critical votes on two amendments on the BREXIT bill.
(4) His stated position on whether it is a sin to be gay has fluctuated over time:
• Before the 2017 GE he would not give any clarification and then said it was not.
• Since the 2017 GE he has confirmed that he believes that it is a sin (retracting his apparently “pressured” statement previously).
This CLP:
• Welcomes LGBTQ+ people to our community
• Expresses its concern that his personal and religious views may adversely affect the LGBTQ+ Community and particularly young people of Cumbria.
• Recognises that such views may lead to conscious or unconscious bias in constituency issues and parliamentary activities
• Also, it recognises that these views contributed to his lack of judgement in choosing to speak at Sherborne Abbey instead of attending the House
• Believes that our MP should not absent himself from Parliament when the House is sitting to give lectures on his religious beliefs
• Calls upon our Secretary/Chair to write to TF to express our feelings about his activities, our stance on his views and to express our belief that his first duty is to his constituents.
• Requests that a press release is made to the local newspapers to counter recent events to show that LGBTQ+ people are welcome in Cumbria and the Labour Party despite our MP’s homophobia.