No doubt there is a lot of fevered scribbling going on amongst political parties at the moment with regards to writing their manifestos to be launched during General Election 2011.

After the election during the coalition negotiations a Programme for Government will be produced with more lobbying by pressure groups and priorities slipping in the battle for power.

I have written before about the narrowness of political manifestos with regard to LGBT rights with a focus on marriage and relationship recognition and little else. There have been few if any public commitments by political parties with regards to hate crime, education, health, foreign affairs etc. Since the last general election we have seen huge cuts to equality and human rights infrastructures which should also concern LGBT voters in choosing a party to vote for.

If you are interested in the manifesto’s which were produced by the parties in the 2007 election, Michael Pidgeon has an excellent online resource with copies of them hosted as the political parties seem to have taken them down from their own sites.

Another interesting publication is the UK Government’s programme for government. Note that this is sanctioned by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats as part of their coalition deal and highlights numerous commitments across departmental portfolios. Whether it is fully implemented is debatable but it’s impressive in its breadth.

Hopefully I and others will be reviewing and commenting on party manifestos on a number of policy issues when published and the programme for government. I will also provide coverage to the publication of manifestos of civil society groupings which are of interest. (Email: tips(AT)mamanpoulet.com)

But for the moment what issues concern you with regard to LGBT issues in your life and those living around you? What would make you vote for a particular party?