Ay Speech in Support of Hull University Labour Club Motion on Gay Conversion Therapy, Labour Students Conference, Leicester University, 1 March 2013.
Fifty years ago this year, Labour students Hedley Taylor and Colin Livett came to this conference at this very university. They were mandated to second and vote for a motion that would lay the foundations for an important development. The motion called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
The Labour Government that followed went onto decriminalise it. While Hedley and Colin themselves do not claim they themselves brought down this ban, it sent an important message and reflected an important change in attitudes. A change that as a gay man myself I can be grateful.
Today we see yet more developments. Just a few months ago, in one of few moves I support the Coalition Government on, they brought forward a vote on introducing equal marriage. But the fight for gay rights does not just end there.
In the UK and the wider world, LGBT people still face discrimination. Whether it be on the playgrounds or in the workplace or in our homes, LGBT people can still be faced with significant challenges.
Gay conversion therapy is one of them. What is it? It is a therapy which claims to be able to change one's sexuality from gay to straight. Little did I know until recently that not only is this offered in America but even happens in the United Kingdom as well.
Groups like the Core Issues Trust advocate the practice and currently anyone can set themselves up as a physiotherapist committed to offering services which can change people's sexuality.
This is clearly unacceptable. In 2009 it was revealed that out of 1300 British psychiatrists, over 200 had tried to alter someone's sexuality and that 55 remained committed to doing so. Yet the evidence that it works is at best ambiguous.
Let me echo the message Colin and Hedley brought to this conference 50 years ago: being gay or bisexual is not a disease. It is not wrong or abnormal. It is not strange and it is not harmful. It is about love and being happy - who can disagree with that? Yet statistically LGBT youths are more likely to commit suicide than any other group. How can this happen 50 years after the decriminalisation of homosexuality?
The motion I am proposing is more than just banning and regulating conversion therapy. It's about reaffirming that message that was brought here 50 years ago. Banning it for under 18s and heavily regulating it for over that sends out that message.
It gives us a platform for fighting homophobia in our schools. It gives a platform for fighting the false choice of changing your sexuality and hating yourself. A vote for this motion is a vote to ensure a fair and happier future for our young people.
By Ryan Mellor, LGBT Officer, Hull University Labour Club and Steering Committee Member, Hull and East Riding Labour LGBT+ Network.