Manchester City Council in Gay Vote Scandal

Another week and yet another “gay awards scheme” appears to be attracting some dubious nominations.

Last month the Stonewall Awards in London sparked an angry protest from the transgender community and a major celebrity split after a bigoted journalist was nominated.  Heres more proof that the “old boys network” is alive and well in Manchester…

About a week ago Terry Waller, “Lead Officer for Gay Men’s Issues” at Manchester City Council sent out an email requesting people to vote for gay men’s social group run by the LGF “Icebreakers” for a Pink Paper Readers Award (they happened to be last year’s winners). The email went onto say – “Maybe you’ll also nominate our friends at The LGF, Taurus, 40 plus  and Northern Wave too.”

After your money AGAIN!.. - the Lesbian and Gay Foundation

Read our article “The Truth about where your wristband money really went“ which explains how together they conspired to ripped off Manchester’s long suffering LGBT Community last year by making multiple funding bids for the same organisation under different names and therefore siphoning off the funding into one big fat pot.

Whilst we have no objection to the claim that that the groups and businesses being promoted are just as worthy candidates to win an award as any other and no doubt provide excellent services to the community but the question must be asked- why is Manchester City Council participating in the unfair influence of a democratic process by sending this request to its entire LGBT mailing list? Other groups hoping to be nominated may also be reminding their supporters to vote for them but this is a council mailing list which includes people who are neither Pink Paper Readers and who most likely have never heard of or used the services of this cliquey list of ”friends” the email is suggesting people nominate and vote for.

This use of the mailing mailing list in this manner is clearly biased an inappropriate, its completely unfair to other worthy groups and businesses and it smacks of favoritism. Taurus, the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (who run Icebreakers, the 40+ Group and Northern Wave Swimming Group) and Manchester City Council are all heavily in bed with the controversial Manchester Pride – also nominated for an award.

Terry Waller claims this request is purely “information we have been asked to distribute” however previous attempts by other organisations not connected to funded by Manchester City Council have failed to be distributed are frequently ignored. Although his mail shots are sometimes useful and informative they rarely contain anything other than more promotional extracts from the Lesbian and Gay Foundation or Manchester Pride –  which have plenty of more direct and dedicated means of contacting the community.

Shameless!

Manchester Pride Ticket £15
Squishing Criticism – Priceless!

Manchester City Council and “friends” at the Launch of Manchester Pride 2008. Together they have sent requests to a public city council mailing list to canvass support in order to swing the vote in favour of their organisations in this year’s Pink Paper Awards.

Despite causing so much anger and controversy within the community, GayMafiaWatch has heard Manchester Pride has been nominated for a Pink Paper Award too.

Jackie Crozier, Director of Manchester Pride. Famous for her Gestapo-like appearance in this revealing video when she attempted to confiscate placards in the Pride Parade because they read “Pride Not Profit”.

Andrew (“Drew”) Stokes, Chair of Manchester Pride and Director of “Marketing Manchester”. Read about how he misled the public over Pride’s attendance figures promoting a probe by Trading Standards.

Pink Haired Mavis, Lord Mayor of Manchester. She didn’t really have a clue what was going on. This blogger has more photos with the poor mayor looking even more shocked as organisers try to cover up their actions.

Mike “Polly” Pollard, Proprietor of Canal Street bar Taurus and representing the Village Business Association (VBA). Three weeks after this photo was taken the VBA’s chair Phil Burke resigned from the Board of Manchester Pride accusing the council of putting “Pounds before Poofs”

Cllr Paul Fairweather, founding member and supporter of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation the charity where GayMafiaWatch has uncovered a lot of dirty dealings along with the George House Trust – another dodgy charity you can read about in this blog

…the big cover-up Moments after the above photo was taken…. Protesters descend on the Pride Officials and Lord Mayor The protest group “Pride is a Protest” claims it has been shamefully airbrushed out of the official pride photos.

Pink Washed!

In this photo you can clearly see how a sign being held by a protester in the back of the photo outside Manchester Town hall taken shortly after saying “Queer Liberation Now” has been airbrushed in black out by Manchester Pride. A Pink “Pride Not Profit” Banner in the far right corner has also been obscured. Watch a video of the protest at the Manchester Pride Launch

If it’s not clear to you what Manchester Pride is all about, they have made it clear what its not about by doing this.

As Manchester Pride came to a close at end of August 2008, Phil Burke (who was missing from the above photos) Chair of the Village Business Association (VBA) resigned from the board of Manchester Pride in frustration and declared “Manchester Pride is a marketing event run by ‘dictators’ “. It made the front page of the Manchester Evening News later that day where he continued to speak out and claimed “Manchester Pride is Purely a Commercial Operation“.

Dozens of other small businesses, charities and community groups and local councilors of all parties have since spoken out in support of Mr Burke including Body Positive, Cruz 101, The Rembrandt, Eden, AXM Group, LGBT History Month. Queer Youth Network, OutRage! and the NUS LGBT Campaign.

In October 2008, UNISON (the largest of all the trade unions) voted at it’s recent LGBT conference to condemn the actions of Manchester Pride and has agreed not to provide it with sponsorship to the event next year.

Media Tactics launched against Stonewall Awards Protest

Just two days before their annual awards ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum is set to be besieged by coach loads of angry trans activists, “gay lobby group” Stonewall are once again up to their dirty tricks and have enlisted the former Gay Times editor and henchwoman of the “Soho Gay Mafia”in an attempt to distract the more independent gay and mainstream press away from Thursday’s demonstrations.

At 11am on Tuesday 4th November 2008 “Head Lesbian” Vicky Powell rushed out the following news release from Stonewall’s London office with the headline “Lesbians find sexism a bigger barrier to work success than homophobia” – a news release which GayMafiaWatch believes is the start of a “damage limitation” exercise orchestrated by Stonewall bosses with the assistance of their gay media monopoly friends.

Unable to cope with the demand on their press office flooded with complaints and faced with a very large public protest outside the event after they controversially nominated a Transphobia Lesbian Feminist for their “Journalist of the Year” award – it seems Stonewall’s plan of action includes promoting sexism as a bigger issue than homophobia and no doubt any other specific oppression against the LGBT community. This press release has been sent out for no other purpose but a direct attempt to sabotage and divert attention away from the protests in a few days time and possibly win over as many lesbians and women to their array of invented and false projects this press release talks of.

Then there’s Vicky Powell herself who left Gay Times in October 2006 to join Stonewall and has since very rarely (if ever) sent out a press release on behalf of Stonewall (it is virtually always Gary Nunn). So professional is dear Vicky that she fatally (not for the first time!) forgot to “blind copy” the recipients of the press release email, revealing every single one of their press contacts, a serious breach of confidentiality and privacy to say the least!

How cynical this appears, just because this story is about women it gets sent out by a woman. It seems like poor Vicky is a victim of Stonewall’s own sexist attitudes as she only gets to have her name on something if it relates to Lesbians otherwise it’s left to Nunn. She hasn’t released anything from Stonewall since January 2007, Garry Nunn sends stuff out on an almost weekly basis.

“It’s no surprise therefore that Britain’s two million lesbians remain almost invisible at work.” Interviewees pointed to a lack of openly gay women in the workplace” – commented Ruth Hunt, Stonewall’s head of policy. – Maybe that’s because they all work for Stonewall!