07 Mar Manchester to urge anti-gay law veto on St Petersburg trip
Manchester’s Lord Mayor and Deputy Leader, currently in St Petersburg, will meet the city’s governor to urge him not to sign an anti-gay bill into law.
The Manchester delegation is in Russia to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the two cities being twinned.
But the trip has coincided with the passage of a bill which would fine the promotion of gay, bi or trans identities among minors and which threatens to silence the gay and trans community in the eyes of many around the world.
The British officials will meet LGBT groups and St Petersburg’s Governor Poltavchenko, whom they will urge not to sign the bill into law.
Councillor Sue Murphy, deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said it was an “honour” to be twinned with St Petersburg and “the friendship has stood the test of time”.
She said: “When you have been friends for so long – whether it be a person or a city – it gives you the right to point out when your friend is doing something wrong. This bill is simply wrong. It is bad for LGBT people living in the city, and it is bad for St Petersburg’s reputation across the globe. This trip gives us the opportunity to make this point clearly at the highest level in St Petersburg – before it is too late. We will urge the governor to veto this ill-conceived piece of legislation.