The gay rights movement began in 1969 with the Stonewall riots, when drag queens physically fought the New York police after raids on gay bars. The next year saw the first Pride march. Our community knew that we had to fight for our right to freely express our sexualities without fear of being arrested, sacked or queer bashed.

In recent years we have won significant legal reforms. The age of consent has been equalised, transgender people are recognised by law, bosses are banned from sacking us due our sexuality and we have civil partnerships, giving us most of the ‘rights’ of marriage. These reforms had to be campaigned for over many years. New Labour didn’t rush to put them in place, frequently having to be shamed into changing the law by Court decisions.

The battle for our rights is not over yet. Laws don’t guarantee equality in society. There have been laws against racial and sex discrimination for many years but these laws did not remove racism and sexism from society. For many LGBT people the threat of being sacked for coming out is still real. Homophobic bullying is rampant in schools yet the BBC says it’s Ok for a Radio 1 DJ to use the word “gay” in a derogatory fashion.

Queer bashing is still a danger. The recent conviction of two men for the homophobic murder of Jody Dobrowski on Clapham common shows that the LGBT community should never be complacent.

In the past, big business politicians have used homophobia to shore up their support, confusing and dividing workers who might otherwise fight back against cuts and privatisations. Thatcher put Section 28 into a local Government Act to distract from cuts in local services. In a crisis politicians could rediscover these tactics. Already, both Blair and Cameron are talking about revising or scrapping the Human Rights Act. This is the law used for legal challenges against homophobic policies and laws

EuroPride is being promoted as a big party. Socialists have nothing against enjoyment – if we wanted people to be miserable we would support the cuts, sackings and poverty that capitalism brings – but we say that Pride should be a political event aimed at the establishment politicians and their system, not a vacuous carnival. The organisers are putting on a day of consumption and profiteering by big businesses that want to get the money out our pockets.

For someone on a low income, worrying about getting home at night safely and under threat of losing their job because of Gordon Brown’s drive to cut thousands of public sector jobs, the glossy lifestyle promoted by the Gay press might as well be on Mars. Yet capitalists want us to buy into the idea that spending Pink Pounds will solve any problems our community has.

EuroPride sponsor British Airways is planning mass job losses when it move to Heathrow terminal five and to render powerless the trade unions representing its workforce. The first sign of this came in last year’s Gate Gourmet dispute when low-paid workers, mainly Asian women, were sacked on the spot by a BA spin-off company. At a time when the LGBT community should be reaching out to the Asian community, sponsorship from a company that wants to make workers jobless and attack their unions sends out the wrong message.

Another Europride sponsor, Ford, has a “political action committee” which has given donations to 35 senators who voted for Bush’s attempt to amend the US constitution to prevent gay marriage rights being granted by states.

Big business views us as no more than a market to be advertised to. The organisers of EuroPride should be ashamed to ask us to march under the banner of these companies. Would Ford or BA sponsor Moscow Pride or Warsaw Pride, both of which were attacked by reactionary state authorities and the police? Would they have sponsored the Stonewall rioters battling the NYPD?

The Socialist Party fights for the rights of all workers. We oppose any attempt to divide us by sexuality, race or gender.

We are at the forefront of campaigning for a new mass workers’ party which could fill the void to the left of out of touch establishment politicians who are in the pay of big business. We don’t believe that the market can solve society’s problems and campaign against cuts and privatisations put forward by all three main parties. If these aren’t opposed the political void could be filled by right wing parties such as the viscously homophobic BNP.

The only guarantee of gay rights is a socialist society in which the needs of ordinary people for work, housing and respect are met and there is no room for social problems to be blamed on minorities. Monopoly corporations such as Ford and BA should be brought into public ownership under the control of their workers and the wider community, their resources being used for everyone’s benefit, not to make profits for a few. Join us in our fight!

For full equality of rights! End homophobia!

For international solidarity with LGBT communities fighting for their basic rights!

For a political pride standing in solidarity with Trade unions and communities under attack!

For a socialist society free from oppression! End the profit system!