History Club live with Andrew Muir
Hello everyone you’re very welcome to our history Club this is Tuesday the 30th of January and history Club is part of the lgbtqia plus heritage project I’m Joe Walch I’m the development officer and the heritage project is in partnership with Cara friend the rainbow project and here on I and it is very
Kindly funded by the national lottery Heritage fund and this evening on History club we have The Fabulous Andrew mure Andrew is the first out gameer of North down very welcome Andrew and thank you for joining us this evening and uh Andrew you’re going to be talking about your experiences of being
The first out mayor or stroke MLA yeah okay and we will be recording this event for upload on YouTube and as we’ve mentioned if you don’t want to be part of the recording just keep your camera off and your devices on mute and we have some time at the end after recording for
Those who don’t wish to be on camera um so Andrew we’ve shared the screen and you’ve got a be bit of a PowerPoint presentation for us yeah yes yes fantastic thank you so just whenever you’re ready no problem and thank you very much um Joe for the invite and I’m
Particularly thankful uh to be uh engaging tonight with car friend um car friend was the first organization and the first people I came out to is a gay man back in 1996 and I’m forever grateful for the support they provided for me as I departed upon that Journey as an out gay
Man so something very close to my heart and I want to say thank you for the support that was given then and and now to so many other and I think the history Club is a great Initiative for us to be able to um look back in terms of what
Was uh achieved and what happened in our past p and also to celebrate that and most importantly as well to remember um those who um provided contributions towards our lgbtqia plus community in in the past so I think it’s important uh we do that uh my mom is on the call so I’m
Going to be on my best behavior uh that tonight um she was here in the photograph uh which is pictured when I signed in as an MLA in December uh 2019 and that was the second time that I decided I would were a yellow bow tie
And little did I know that that would probably become a bit of a a signature for me and I have loads in in my bedroom next door um and I wear them occasionally not all the time so sometimes people do ask why I’m not wearing them um I’m just going to go
Through a couple of slides just to just really outline um just in terms of my own history as a an elected representative and activism within politics and I’m happy to take any um questions um afterward words if that’s okay uh so in terms of the first slide
Which hope we move through let me see yeah so um this uh reflects maybe the my life as as I came out as I said back in 1996 so the bottom left hand corner H was in 1977 and it was the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and that’s when my mother
Dressed me up now she says she dressed me up as a k King but there is some debate within some circles whether I was a queen in relation to that and that is a picture of me in those uh Jubilee celebrations the other photograph to the
Right of me whether it’s a king or a queen is at uh Northwest Pride uh 19 uh 998 and I was very proud to be co-chair of that up in dairy uh London Dairy and as I said I came out in 1996 and the picture to the right which says what a
Gay day for Belfast was my first uh pride parade in Belfast in 1996 so it wasn’t long before itively came out um of the closet that I was on my first uh pride pared and I can still remember that we went back to the parliament bar
And everyone got free hot food that took part in the parade I don’t think we could stretch that nowadays for the pride PRS that we have um so it was a very short order after that I moved to Dairy London der and got involved involved while also being at University
In the LGBT community and was the chair of fil friend for which their logo is up there in the leftand uh corner and I’m very proud of the fact that at that time we received the Stonewall equality award from the Secretary of State at the time which is Mo mullum recognizing our
Contribution towards uh LGBT people and also equality particularly an achievement for us was in 1998 when the Good Friday agreement was passed we had section 75 and that was a a landmark piece of legislation for so many different uh reasons but it included sexual orientation in anti-discrimination legislation and we
Felt that that was a good achievement and we were very grateful for Mo Mullen to recognize us and the last photograph in the middle there is myself with James Grant when received quite significant grant funding at foil friend for a resource center in da London D so it was
A really momentous time for me to say uh the equality is being progressed and for the recognition of the LGBT community um no less from the Secretary of State and um I feel very grateful uh to have been part of those that time it wasn’t plain
Sailing and I’ll talk about that in in a while but I think it was an important moment for the LGBT community and it was I’m very grateful um to be part of it um the next slide uh is our um late PA mlin and I loved pa um tiets and Pi is not
Someone who sharked uh been able to stand up uh for fellow brothers and sisters within the community and uh what he’s at there is at the protest outside the first civil Partnerships delivered in Northern Ireland and I think that was on the 19th of December 2005 so we had
Uh all sorts of uh people with pla cards but uh PA came along with uh big large fls to fill the moment with love and with uh happiness and as some people on the call Will Remember the delivery of civil Partnerships and so many other things
That occurred occurred um not due to but despite the northern irand assembly and that’s something is important for me to note as uh MLA in the northern irand assembly and because we need to change the situation where the assembly is a a vehicle for delivery of equality and a
More equal Society for all in Northern Ireland um and it was through myself and other members of the community who are on this call here tonight including um that we lobed for these uh achievements to be delivered for us so we had for example the equal AIA consent delivered
In 2000 the ban on serving in the military in 2000 and also Protections in terms of discrimination and employment on the basis of sexual orientation and then obviously civil Partnerships in 2005 so to me that was a momentous time where we were seeing that equality legislation being delivered and it was
Three activist within the LGBT community with so many people including myself that we delivered that and that really was a team effort and I really pay tribute to all the people within the community who lobed hard persevered engaged and uh managed to get things over the line and that was on the back
Of obviously the decriminalization in the early 1980s um but these were important times and there were times where we showed our Effectiveness as one United um community and with so many people showing courage and Leadership including the late pm glocken and I’m really glad that the there is an award
At Bast Pride named after PA every year to remember his contribution uh so the next slide uh refers to perhaps the last piece of legislation that was delivered before the return to Devolution in 2007 so obviously we had a period of time that there was a direct Rule and
This was uh legislation out law on discrimination in the provision of goods facilities and services and that was passed and came into into par on the 1st of January 2007 and we felt this was important legislation that we as a community um lobed for in terms of the previous
Secretary of State Peter halil and that’s his signature on the legislation because it was important to bring ourselves in line with the rest of the United Kingdom om in terms of um legislation to protect um our citizens within our community and I think that was an important thing and I can
Remember the meetings we had with the secretary of state and a special advisor making the case for this and collectively we were able to achieve that but then we sort of move on to uh perhaps my more involvement in elected um life and politics and what preceded
That was uh involvement with a number of other setting up a local uh lgbtqia plus group within ards and North down and I’m very proud to live within Northtown and we set that up and uh we’re very grateful at the time that the mayor of Northtown Steven farry who’s a colleague
And friend attended um some of our anoral events as mayor and also as did Alan McFarland AUST unist MLA and James mcaro and obviously the police and other members of the lgbtqia plus Community including Andy who’s there to the left with we thought this was a important time locally where the LGBT community
Was uh building together and also having visibility and having uh influence um and there’s another further photograph of us at the Town Hall uh with that’s with Andrew EMT and a number of the counselors where we were having that level of influence as I said back in
2007 the assembly uh came back and uh devolved uh politics was in B and we had achieved so much within the LGBT community but also for myself My Views were how much more can I influence the political system to create a fairer and a better Society for everyone um so in
Um 2008 I joined the alliance party and that was me representing the alliance party on a panel uh for B house Pride not looking exactly over the moon or smiling too much on that because it were difficult topics to debate and that was with Peter tatel on the panel and the
Next slide reflects when I join the party which which was in I think it was February 2008 and that’s with me with David Ford I was told at that time point to Something in the sky and it looked like a good photograph and I did what I
Was told but uh yeah so that’s what that photograph was about I don’t know what I was exactly was pointing at um and that’s when I joined the the alliance party uh as a member um I was probably a we bit taken aack that I moved forward
In the party as quick as what I anticipated because no sooner that I was um selected and stood for election in nuan Arma as a Westminster candidate in the general election and I can remember that night very clearly because I was at the count for East Belfast and North D
And that’s when Nomi long was elected as MP for East Belfast and that was a momentous moment for Northern Ireland and also for East Belfast and then I quick footed it down to the count Center in Banbridge uh for the Nom the announcement in ation to nurian Arma um
I got um about 500 votes so I was pipped to the post by the winning candidate who got 18,000 uh but it was a good outing and good experience in terms of uh elections and campaign I’m very grateful that the party entrusted me uh to do
That then uh in new short order on the 8th of July 2010 a vacancy came about in North DB a council for the Hollywood area and I was selected by the party to presentent them on uh North darb Council and that’s me at the time with these
Amazing robes that we all wore at the time H very strange previously we had hats apparently but we only had robes back in 2010 and that’s me with my previous partner Alan at an event in the um town hall and I was very grateful at
The time for the council to uh and for the alliance party to welcome me uh there and it was very appreciative of that and I came there with a strong commit commitment to the liance party’s vision and values uh but also to delivering for the people of um
Hollywood area which I represented in North down more generally but I was also conscious that I was an openly gay man and that’s something I was very clear about and I was very clear about the values in terms of pursuing equality and delivering for people uh across Society
Um and what I I’ll talk about this in a second what I saw over those years since the an elected representative is a change in society and a change in attitudes which has been very welcome uh to to see uh but it has been a a journey
That we’ve all followed upon and uh and been able to influence issues within Democratic politics um so the next slide is when I stood for election in 2011 and I was elected um above Coda and also brought in my running mate uh the late Larry Thompson and to me that was a very
Personal moment for me to be able to be elected by by the people of the area in such a resounding uh Manner and to receive that mandate whil also being an openly gay man and having the clear commitment to the issues that I felt uh were were important and uh at that time
We all uh were given the opportunity to do acceptance speeches but with the new councils and 40 counselors I think they cut that back a bit because sometimes the speeches uh would have went on oh well um and next which is probably the bit that’s been talked about quite a lot
In relation to tonight’s talk is when I got the opportunity to serve as mayor of Northtown and that was from June 2013 to June 2014 and that’s me as H mayor of North Dar with Steven farry my colleague to the left numi long uh as MP
And Deputy leader at the time uh for East Belfast and um D Ford as Lance party uh leader and we’ve all probably aged a we bit uh since that photo so I probably remember that uh to me this was an important moment that uh the Council
Made that decision uh to elect me to serve as mayor and that was a vote on the council it wasn’t through a d hun or a par sharing entitlement it was an agreement through the parties that the Lance party would hold the meral position and uh I’m very thankful that
The council followed through on that a lot of respect for the members who came along and followed through in relation to that commitment and especially to the alliance party for putting me forward for that I know that at that time I need made a little bit of history in terms of
Being the first openly gay mayor in Northern Ireland to be elected to that post and I was very grateful for that I know there’s many people who went before me in terms of positions of leadership and I would particularly give thanks to John Blair who was an open leuea
Counselor long before I came on the scene so there’s many who um who who were in those positions and showed that leadership and that courage to represent everyone in their community and I’m very very thankful for that when becoming there I was very determined to have a
Very inclusive um year so the events that I went to I deliberately made sure that I sought out uh communities within the area and engage with them we also worked to have a theme of working as one which is about bringing people together and uh throughout the year I kept myself
Very busy whilst also undertaking a full-time job and of very glad that was able to do over 700 engagements as the mayor of North D and on the back of the unanimous vote of the council to put me in the position and I was very very very very grateful for that and it’s
Something that I will forever uh remember the some of the events that took place um throughout my term as mayor was that for the first time ever as mayor I held an event in the town hall which I called the city hall because Banger is a city and that was
For St Patrick’s Day and that is Sylvia Herman myself and our CCE at the event and to me that was really important that we celebrated our culture and Heritage within the town hall and it was a really important element of the year and so many other memories there which are
Reflecting the wall behind me in terms of year my year as a mayor of uh North Town there’s a cartoon that often appears in The countown Spectator and this was one they did of me and uh that was for me launching Banger parkrun and I launched that in March 2014 so we got
A bit of council support and I became the event director for that and that was about me delivering something for the local community but also being part of the community and that event regularly attracts between and 300 Runners every single week and I think that’s uh to me
One of the last in memories of the maril year since then I also set up Crawford bur park run is probably one of the Hest Park runs in Northern Ireland so I would remind people of that if they’re tempted to come to it but we do an amazing fry
Afterwards so that makes up for the hills and for the event but uh I I do like this cartoon and it’s h it’s in here in in my study the next uh event that I had as mayor and there will be one person at least on this call will remember that is
When I hosted uh the lgbtqa plus Community for International Day against homophobia biphobia and transphobia and it was great to welcome everyone to what is the Town Hall in Banger and to have that event and uh we really enjoyed that and to me that was an important element uh of my
Year what uh happened at the event also is that the uh cake was kindly supplied for the event and little did I know that this cake would gain so much prominence over the years ahead there is a story to be told about the cake which was kindly
Supplied that I never actually got a slice of the cake I never ate any slice of the cake cake cuz the cake contained gluten and I’m gluten intolerant so the cake uh looked as it did and I might have Cut the Cake but I never got to eat
The cake it is also one of the rare times that I appear in a photograph as mayor not wearing a suit uh so the one day that I decided to dress down the photograph uh became uh viral and uh the story uh associated with this lives on uh in the uh
Newspapers this is my last day as uh mayor and I made a deliberate effort to engage with my Charities as mayor so I had three Charities which was the Camp Hill Community uh the YMCA and the mar poic trust and that’s me outside the Camp Hill Community in Hollywood and it
Was a really really maral occasion and the cake that is pictured there which was presented to me I uh did try to distribute as much as I could within the workplace but there were so much kind gifts given to me that I was really appreciative of the meril chain is
Something that’s been worn by one of the members of staff at the cafe there but became something that was quite popular throughout the year because everyone liked to wear the meral chain but there is two stories to be told one my grandmother uh really did like word Merl
Chain to the extent we had to prize it offer with h uh really difficultly because she loved it so much and also I was at an event and someone said to me oh can I wear your chain and I said yes that’s no problem I said but you need to
Be careful CU it’s worth £100,000 and and the person the young child goes that’s a lot of money and I said yes you could buy a house with that and in response someone else turn around not in this area you couldn’t buy a house for £100,000 uh so the chain did prove quite
Popular and has a history in itself because back in the 1960s it was accidentally thrown in the bin and was found on the Rubbish Tip in syum thankfully so I did look after the chain very very well and I’m very glad that it continues to be used in the new merged
Ards and North D B Council um there was a number of articles that I did whil May and this was one within Gay Times reflecting the uh history of myself in terms of being an openly gay man I’ve been very much on the record that in terms of the late 90s
Was when I came out in the early 2000s there was challenges that I experienced whether it’s in terms of hate crime or difficult other uh issues uh but there are issues that I think shaped me as a person and also imparted me to struggle on and make that case for equality and
For justice for everyone within our um Society the next pictograph picture reflects when I stood for election in the assembly so I did that in uh 2016 alongside Steven farry in North D and that’s Nomi and David and that was an important opportunity to uh stand as
Candidate in this area and seek to become and MLA and run in the um running for six seats I became seventh um so it was a uh a challenge to become an MLA but it was something that shaped me and gave me energy to go forward um next photograph is that in
2019 I managed to secure commitment from the council after a bit of a battle to get the arch Town Hall lit up in rainbow colors and after uh at the second attempt in relation to this when a request came in from the rainbow project Council eventually agreed that and I
Think it’s important to reflect for me how over the years things have changed and I could recall standing for election in 2011 2014 2016 and then for the ccil elections in 2019 High attitudes especially engagement with the public around ele in election times or otherwise did change and I see saw that
Occurring very very rapidly from 2017 onwards in terms of the discourse around issues and in terms of people advocating for that and to me been able to achieve this in terms of AR North Tob Council agreeing to light up AR town hall and rainbow colors was it may be SE as a
Small thing it was for me quite a symbolic thing that the council agreed that and it was affirming of a significant proportion of their people within their burrow we on the night waiting for it we waited and waited and waited because waiting for the switch to
Turn for it to come on but we eventually glad that it did uh this Photograph reflects in 2019 when I was reelected to serve as a counselor for um the Hollywood and cland boy area that’s longside my running meate at the time Jalene Greer and that reflects what I’ve just spoken about the
Change in society that amongst all the U counselors elected in the North D area I received the highest number of votes so for me to receive the highest number of votes than any candidate in the whole of North down area um to me was um really quite
Personal to me and quite uplifting yes I feel that was earned through the the hard work and the trust that people were placing in me but also it was saying about Society changing and that how being openly uh gay within uh elected office was not a barrier to to moving
Forward not without its issues and whether without the some of the um social media abuse frankly that you would receive but to receive that endorsement to me was uh a really positive moment personally for myself um and I think and probably more of a a wider element uh and this Photograph
Reflects also when I was working with TransLink so I left TransLink in 2019 to become an MLA and it was the first time that TransLink agreed to take part in the Belfast pride parade and that’s me with my mom and stepdad before departing on the PR and to see or organizations
Such as my employer and so many more actively engaging in Pride and for me to be able to do that with my employer was to me very uplifting and uh very grateful that my parents came along and supported me in doing that and this is where I reflect upon the journey that
Northern Ireland has um traveled then a moment came about which I didn’t entirely expect uh to be honest and I know some people think that they take things um for granted but I certainly didn’t take this for granted nor did I expect it but on the uh night
Of the and into the morning of the 12th and 13th of December 2019 uh my friend and colleague Steven farry was elected as MP for North D and to me that was an amazing moment for North D and for Northern Ireland and I would say for Steven especially to see him elected as
MP for the area and you can see that we’re a static at that um and at that moment uh immediately after that some people were saying to me so Steven seat as an MLA has become vacant is that something you would consider and my clear response was no h this is not
Something I’ve considered and uh that I’m trying to to bat that issue away because it’s not something that I saw coming onto the radar at all but after a few days I H considered and deliberated in relation to that and I decided to put myself forward for
Selection to replace Steven as an MLA in the northern irand assembly for North D and I took up the post on the 23rd of December 2019 um there is a bit of an element of deja vu I would say for everyone uh tonight that we’re on hopefully the
Precipice of restoration of the assembly but at this moment when I was signed in on the 23rd of December 2019 we were back in the same situation that we uh are today without without a functioning assembly and executive so I have experience of this stop go government
And I’m very keen that ensure that we reform the assembly and the executive that we have uh uh stable institutions and we don’t have the cycle of Crisis and collapse because it’s important that we give stability and Delivery for the people of Northern Ireland the other memory from this photograph is that the
TV in the background some of uh younger people know are asking what is that and what era does that dat back to uh but that was a reflection perhaps of the time back then uh next slide is that in 2022 I stood for election alongside Connie Egan my colleague and friend in
North D and I was absolutely delighted that both Connie and I got elected as mlas for North D and that I am really so grateful and thankful that I H was elected uh uh in 2022 to serve as MLA and continue my work but also became the
Second uh pulled second in terms of the number of votes as candidates in the area and I think that was meant so much to me I’m so thankful for the people who voted for me and also those who supported me some of which were in the photograph who were absolutely exhausted
At that moment but managed to get some energy to celebrate that moment um in uh the election campaign since then uh there’s been memorable moments this was uh last year at the 25th anniversary of the good Freddy agreement we former and past members of The Alliance team gathered
Together to uh celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement and that’s us on the steps of stormant and I have that framed within our party rooms in the northern IR assembly at Parliament buildings and I’m very grateful for my mom and stepdad for
Helping me put it in a frame cuz I put it in the frame myself and it collapsed and fell off the wall so they helped fix it and uh that’s there for us in terms of a memory the times since my election in 2022 have also however been frustrating
And this Photograph perhaps reflects best the level of frustration that has been experienced and felt um throughout the whole of Northern Ireland and uh amongst us at the assembly and that’s with Naomi as leader and at a meeting in uh hillsbor C when the uh punishment budget as
Probably is more aply described was being announced to us and in the Wise Wise wisdom of the northern AR office decided to send a photographer in to photograph that uh moment uh but I’m glad to say that since that photograph and since that moment in light of recent
News and uh today that hopefully things are on a better fitting towards the future in the days ahead and this to me reflects as the last slide in terms of my presentation and I’m happy to take questions um to me the positivity around uh Northern Ireland and where we are and
Where we’re going and that is at uh Belfast Pride last year and that’s a photograph my sister quite kindly took when I am meeting my mom outside marks and Spencer in Dono place and I think being uh an openly gay um politician in Northern Ireland goes with the support
And the love and the kindness of family and friends and I’m forever grateful for that that that has supported and helped me get to the position where I am and the colleagues I have within the alliance party who I work with on a daily and really early basis for their
Support encouragement and put me in the positions that I’ve been privileged to hold and I’m very grateful to for that um and I think it’s important to also recognize that whilst we’ve made those strides in terms of representation of the LGBT QA plus Community we don’t have that wide spectrum of representation
Across The Wider element of our community and I would like to see a lot more in terms of the representation beyond what we have at the moment which is John Blair who was the first openly gay MLA own Tennison and myself as a gay man serving in the Norther AR assembly
I’d like to see that rainbow of diversity widened and have greater representation within the assembly within our lgbtqia plus Community but also beyond that because I think the assembly is at its best when it’s reflective of The Wider community and also when it’s delivering for that community and that’s why myself and my
Party believes the institution should be reformed so we can deliver for people and we shouldn’t be held ransome uh by the situation where one party can deny us an assembly to function and deliver for everyone or have the abuse for for example of the petition of concern which
Has been a real frustration for me where the assembly was Voting time after time for marriage equality but yet that was not able to be delivered and that had to come through uh Westminster um the last two things I just want to talk about is just around
Social media I think social media is uh in its infancy was viewed as a power for good and I think some of us are now seeing where that par sometimes can be a power for evil and uh for damage uh amongst uh people within our society and
I think a lot more needs to be done in relation to that because that is something that is an impediment sometimes for people actively getting involved in politics uh and I’m very conscious of some of the discourse that occurs against um our members of the trans community and I think that history
Will not judge kindly in terms of some of the attitudes that are being expressed today in relation to those who are within our community and need our support and need equality delivered for them um there’s challenges ahead uh in terms of politics in Northern Ireland particularly for our community we need
To have a ban on conversion therapy we need to have action in terms of trans people which I’ve just talked about and it’s important the assembly delivers upon that but I’m very proud to be part of the assembly I’m very proud to have the opportunity to serve and I’m very
Very grateful as I’ve said for those who have supported me and allowed me to continue in the position I am I look forward to the future with hope and I also give thanks for those who went before me and uh have also as part of a collective effort helped us achieve what
We have so hopefully that’s useful and I’m happy to take any questions fantastic Andrew thank you so much what a journey that’s amazing um so we’ve got time for some questions um you can either put them in the chat or you can unmute your device um I’ve got got one or two here
Uh I’ll make a we start if anybody doesn’t mind um Andrew you were talking about the the we community group that was set up for LGBT people back in the day um was that called glad gay and yes it was yes it was yeah right I’ve been
Went to a few of those uh sessions I don’t know if you remember me just met to a few of them myself and my partner and we had we had a great time um and it was good to see Services outside the rainbow project because it was kind of
The only one and very B in Belfast um so yeah there was some great work achieved back then and then I can remember the the Arts Town Town Hall that I think it must have been the first year when the lights were meant to be uh displaying our colors of of the pride
Flag and I was there with with my partner and uh pride flag in my backpack ready to do a celebratory video but it it wasn’t to be and switch it it came on much later in the night yeah it was probably too still too bright yes and but we were reading sadly reading
Through some of the the minutes of the meetings and there were arguments about why uh they they didn’t want some of the people didn’t want us to have the lights in those colors and there were trying to offer Alternatives like um pink uh for because it was antibullying week and
Sure that would do us because it’s all the same thing that just astonishing to see very Petty arguments being made for what something is so important as visibility for our community um yeah I can remember the pink suggestion Joe and end up approaching the people who made the pink s suggestion and uh
The it was like are you for real catch yourself on was the conversation I had I’m glad there was somebody there with a bit of Common Sense yeah so there was private conversations occurred in relation to that um but the level of support for those issues was really really really
Significant and the the the strength of arguments against were so weak that it was really good to see how that moved in relation to that and to me it was really important that these issues occur outside of Belfast because often the view is that this is you know the the
Lgbtqa Plus Community is really balast but it’s really important we bring that out and that’s why maybe I would have an aspiration it’s really important the work you do and other organizations within our community in terms of engaging much beyond the sort of the bast area because it’s important that it
Members of our community also fail representation and fail that areas um of um um you know activism and I think the pride festivals we’ve been seeing across Northern Ireland has been really really great to see and we know officially have a a pride festival in Banger uh which
Was has been a sellout last year and I think those things are good good to see excellent um we’ve got a question in the chat and then Nigel has his handri U so the question from the chat says thank you Andrew for your Insight and it’s do
You feel that there’s more scope now and opportunities to get involved in LGBT qia plus Services than than previously as a changing in that respect yeah so I think the level of service provision that exists now compared to back in the late 90s is chalk and cheese
Um and the the high organizations have developed I think are really real credit to us all the the work that’s been done there it’s it’s it’s really like if you see some of the organizations and how they’ve grown and you know the you know the professionalism of those organizations really is massively high
And very highly respected amongst other um NGS and also um political organizations I think there is I don’t know how how this would be scope but there is a need to provide uh mentoring and support for people who want to get involved in politics because often I see
Are people thinking oh you know they Shir at the TV they want to get involved but then they have concern about what would that would mean you know some of this is difficult you know you’re having that conversation some to catch yourself on about the pink color and you know
Wise up you know you know you really are confronting some of this here quite quite hard so I think there is a need for us to maybe I don’t know how we would do it but a a mentoring support thing and to me you know getting people involved in politics regardless of what
What political party you get involved in is important because the more people we have activism within there the more we can have influence and the more we can try to change things so there is scope for that and I know other parts of the UK um have done um issues such as that
So I think there there is a need for that and I think the other question here is about research opportunities I think there is a a need to to be able to you know to ascertain the issues that are faced in our community and how we can advocate for them because within
Political life good quality research is really helpful to give you that evidence based to make the case for change absolutely thanks Andrew and Nigel you have your hand raised yes thanks very much Joe and um thank you for your little on uh what life has been like for yourself uh for
Being an lgbtqia representative in your own political party speaking of diversity and how the differences are between the past and current life so we have got quite indeed a huge amount of progress on LGBT representations so we not to mention so directly I’m and I can’t really imag if I have any direct
Support for any of the political parties but J F has its own LGBT branch and Alliance party has been just representative as it’s been uh currently and the green party a couple of years ago had the most lgbtqia Representatives out of any political party in Northern Ireland so yeah here’s my question to
Yourself um from how it was back then all the way up to now how and I suppose I know what the answer is going to be how happy or satisfied are you with the rate of progression for representation in political parties in Norther currently right now yeah so I I can
Remember at that so I think it was 1998 when I was uh coach chair of Northwest pride in der London der um at that time D peris came and she was the guest speaker and at that time she was involved in the Progressive unionist Party and we felt that was really
Important that D was there and she was uh representative there and was able to speak um from that party um I’ve seen the progression that’s occurred as you’ve said within political parties you have named a number of them but the concern would be and I know that there
Is there is activism within the El unist party um um I’m not wor whether they have a formal group or not and forgive me if they do so but you know within the largest unionist party for Northern Ireland mentioning an elephant in the room where there should be
Representation where there should be you know advocacy for for the for for us you know for for our community so their issues for me um I think that the assembly has a an all group um for the lgbtqia plus Community which own Tennison uh my colleague is the chair of
That and if the assembly comes back hopefully in the next few days that’ll be formally constituted and I think that’ll be a forum for that interaction between the community and between politicians but there is a much further way to go here in terms of ensuring that representation within political parties
And I’m particularly conscious that representation um you know in terms of Beyond you know um you know John on and I needs to be much more broaden and I’m very conscious that that isn’t the case compared to other so I meet other parliamentarians across the UK and Ireland and Beyond and I’m very
Conscious that we’ve still got a journey to go in that element thanks Andrew and Gareth Lee you have your hand ra yes um no thanks thanks Andrew and and thanks for um being so out and being yourself because I think it’s really really important but you’re talking we’re talking about representation there in
Storment and like I don’t think Storm’s ever been lit up rainbow colors I think that would send a really good I don’t know what the rules are around that or anything but that would be I think that would be such send a such strong signal from the heart the heart of government
Because I think the first time City Hall was lit up rainbow it was so exciting the first time a flag went up it was I know it’s symbolic and but I think those things are are very very important so maybe that’s maybe that’s something we could as a community should work
Towards and push for as well because it would certainly signal that um we’re we’re we’re we’re part of the you know the the the institutions of par yeah I totally agree and I think that these are these issues are important um I also look at other parliaments and you can go
On YouTube and watch videos uh where they’re voting on legislation you know in terms of marriage equality and other matters you know conversion therapy bands and you’re seeing that and to me the ultimate moment which we were able to judge whether Northern Ireland is making decisive moves forward for our
Community is when we see that occurring in the assembly when we see the gallery packed full of members of our community applauding and cheering probably in contention standing orders but anyway uh the passage of progressive legislation which protects and advances equality for the lgbtqia plus community and that’s
What we need to see and that’s what we need that needs that that is really really important and I shouldn’t have to watch you know tune into the TV and see these moments occurring in Westminster or in New Zealand or wherever else we need to be able to see that locally I
Think that would be really really important faul thank you and Nigel you have another question goodness I was really hoping that somebody else would raise their hand before I do um I have got one more question for you and that is with the LGBT representation that happens in the country side in
Northern Ireland so whenever I was and I’m still currently the acting secretary for formana Pride out here in formana I came across a very interesting uh statistic whenever I was looking at the northern irland census results so part of the oldest research and I can’t remember for the life of me whenever it
Was uh drafted and published in America it’s mostly American that was to do with uh the rate of uh uh comfortable dead confirmation people who are comfortably out can be as as high as one in 10 and the latest research was it it’s an a comfortable and supportive environment
It can be as high as one in four now according to the census results from our recent uh census in Northern Ireland in the firman and om County borrows the result was the highest in all of Northern Ireland which was nearly 10% for people who had answered the
Question that they were either unsure or they just didn’t answer that doesn’t give us all the details but if it’s nearly % then that’s the close representation as I understand it for well one and 10 is 10% so with that in mind uh much progress these things quite
A lot of not we are doing enough um so in terms of the rural LGBT community I think it’s a big issue here um that I’m very conscious of and it’s uh Easy Living a banger when you’re half an our train journey to Belfast to get
Very caught up within that area and uh to uh really understand the importance of the research which is the point made in terms of you know how what what are the issues how do we engage and most importantly how do we resource this because the level of resourcing towards support for LGBT
People in rural areas needs to be significantly increased I’m very conscious that any development and growth within our LGBT Pia plus sector has been hard fought for in terms of getting funding to do x y and Zed so that’s something that we need to be putting on the agenda and there is good
Models and good examples where this has occurred in other parts of the UK and Ireland and I think that’s something where there’s a lot of learnings to take from to see how we can change that and I think the pride festivals um are really good but this needs to be a sustainable
Thing throughout the year where we’re providing that support for that level of advocacy uh surrounding that thank you very much so just at this point now um thank you I’m going to stop the recording and we’ll have uh one or two more questions if anybody wants to ask
Them who didn’t want to be part of the recording so just bear with me