With your support, we can win more votes and more seats to be a still more powerful voice for equal rights for all. The Liberal Democrats put freedom first. Freedom is about promoting independence for individuals and communities. For many actions, the lowest appropriate level to make decisions must remain the individual, with the opportunity to live our lives as we choose, without trampling the rights of others. We celebrate diversity, and believe that every individual is too important to be bullied.
Freedom also needs fairness.
We want to see social justice in Britain, which means equality before the law and fighting the inequalities and threats that people face because of their sexuality or gender identity. Liberal Democrats will not tolerate a society where some are treated as second class citizens. For most groups in society, equal opportunities are gradually replacing discrimination. Discrimination on the basis of sex, disability or race, for example, is not only frowned upon, but illegal. However, while there have been many piecemeal improvements over recent years, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity is still legal, often seen as acceptable, and sometimes set in the law itself.