Labour, Lib Dems and Conservatives give their official backing to Manchester Pride 2011
Manchester Pride, the UK’s largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender festival, has been backed by the country’s three main political parties.
Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Ed Miliband and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg have all offered words of encouragement and support to the festival.
After such a period of unrest throughout the country, the Prime Minister praised such a positive cultural event.
He stated that the festival ‘will be a great success’ once the various events really kick off this weekend with a ‘Best of British’ theme.
Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said: “It is with great pleasure that I congratulate Manchester Pride on its 21st anniversary,” and went on to echo the Prime Minister’s thoughts, “Manchester Pride is to be applauded for its work in raising awareness of the discrimination and difficulties affecting the lives of LGBT people.”
The leader of the opposition Ed Miliband, who took part in last year’s festival parade, also offered his support , encouraging Manchester Pride’s work in ‘the campaign for equality from tackling hate crimes through to civil partnerships’.
“I am proud of the progress we have made towards LGBT equality over the last decade, but there is still more to do,” he said.
The Prime Minister also congratulated the festival workers who have been instrumental in nurturing Manchester Pride from year to year.
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He said, “These events don’t organise themselves and require a lot of hard work, but they play an important part in the cultural life of our country and you should be proud of what you’ve achieved.”
Festival director Jackie Crozier, who has played a pivotal role in raising six figure sums for charity through Manchester Pride each year, welcomed the support of the three political leaders.
“Regardless of the party you support it is a great thing to know all three main political parties support the move towards equality for LGBT people,” she said.
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