Attitude meets Labour’s Tristram Hunt

In a new video interview, Attitude’s Ben Kelly has sat down with Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt to discuss his party’s plans to tackle homophobic bullying in schools.

Labour have already set out a detailed plan for how they want to restructure Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in schools, and how they plan to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.

In the interview, Tristram explains that tackling such bullying is paramount because there are, “too many young people whose potential is thwarted, because they’re worried about the environment they’re in, so they’re no focusing on their learning.” He goes on to defend his plans for SRE, and how he would only implement plans which he feels would be age appropriate, and suitable for his own children.

Asked if he can really hope to change playground attitudes with law in parliament, Tristram draws on Labour’s previous record of legalising the age of consent, ending Section 28 and bringin in civil partnerships as examples of how, “legislative events actually shape culture and shape discourse and shape civil society.” He also explains why he thinks Labour remain a better option for LGBT voters in a post-equality landscape, in which all major parties are supportive of gay rights.

Finally, the parliamentary candidate for Stoke was also asked how he felt about being named the hottest MP by Attitude, an accolade he described as “an enormous privilege”.

You can read more of our election coverage in the new issue out now on digital and in print.