Our plan for equalities and human rights
We have always been fierce advocates for human rights. We believe in a Britain where nobody has to fear discrimination. A Liberal Democrat government will put equality at the heart of society and the workplace.
We've announced a huge raft of policies on rights and equalities. They are our blueprint for a government that respects the rights of the individual. This will be our foundation for a society where dignity, privacy and equality are valued.
A Liberal Democrat government will put equality at the heart of its agenda and strive towards a brighter future.
Protect Civil Liberties
We will:
- Protect the Human Rights Act and remain in the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Halt all facial recognition data collection by law across the country.
- Fight the Snooper's Charter. We'll end the bulk collection of communication data and internet records.
Demand Equality
The government should take an active part in preventing discrimination. To this end, we will:
- Reform the Gender Recognition Act to remove the need for medical reports, scrap the fee and recognise non-binary identities
- Protect vulnerable places of worship, schools and community centres by providing security funding
- Scrap the Pink Tax - ending the gender price gap
Promote Diversity
Too many groups are underrepresented in working and public life. We'll tackle unconscious and institutional bias to ensure everyone has a fair chance by:
- Increasing statutory paternity leave from two weeks to six
- Extend name-blind recruitment processes to the public sector and encourage their use in the private sector
- Develop a free and easy-to-use unconscious bias toolkit. Unconscious bias training for staff will be a prerequisite for receiving public funds
A Liberal Democrat government will make Britain a champion of equality and freedom across the world.
Make public services work for everyone
Institutional bias is still rife in our public systems. Liberal Democrats will put an end to this. We will:
- End the disproportionate use of Stop and Search
- Tackle bullying in schools, including based on protected characteristics, by promoting pastoral leadership and high-quality sex and relationships education
- Scrap the Tories' suppressive voter ID plans
Promoting Human Rights and Equality Around the World
Human rights are global. A Liberal Democrat government will make Britain a champion of equalities and freedom across the world. We're the only party with a credible plan to enhance the UK's soft power and to use it to promote human rights and democracy around the world:
- We'll work to abolish the death penalty across the globe
- We'll invest in the BBC World Service to ensure as many people as possible can access high quality, trusted news
- We'll protect, defend, and promote human rights for all, including for LGBT+ individuals who are persecuted across the world - as well as those persecuted for their religion or belief.
This is just the beginning. Only a Liberal Democrat government has the plan necessary to fight back against creeping authoritarian populism.
Want to find out more? You can read our full plan here: