Earlier this week Britain’s only openly lesbian MP condemned the Conservative Party for trying to allow small hotels and B&Bs to ban gay couples.

The Equality Bill, which is currently having its second reading in the House of Commons, will ban the discrimination of people in the provision of goods and services due to their religion or their sexuality.

During the debate Eleanor Laing, the Shadow Minister for Women & Equality, argued that the law shouldn’t apply to small businesses as “a small hotel…should not be treated in the same way in legislation as a large central London hotel.”
 
Angela Eagle, Labour MP for Wallasey labelled Laing’s comments as “sad” and said that not being denied services due to a person’s sexuality was “a simple matter of human rights.”

In a letter to Pink News, Laing clarified “one or two matters” about her views and also expanded a little on the wider issue of equality and the Tories view on this issue.

“I have at no stage argued that small businesses should have an exemption from equality laws; in fact I believe the opposite,” wrote Laing.

“In order to put my comments on this matter in their correct context I think it is necessary to include the following sentence from my speech in the Second Reading debate, ‘In forming legislation, we must respect those upon whom a duty lies, as well as those to whom rights are given’ .

“I believe that this is very important as it serves to protect the LGBT community as well as all other groups within the Equality Bill.

Laing went on to point out that there are already exemptions for short-term leases in the Bill, as it provides choice for landlords regarding with whom they share their premises.

As the Bill currently stands, if one rents a room to someone else on a short-term lease, then they can choose who stays there, but if they rent it overnight, then they cannot.

“I believe that although this is not a problem for large hotel chains, it may be if the owner of a small Bed and Breakfast was also a resident on the premises. I would like to see some consistency in the Bill,” said Laing.

“I believe that every person in Britain today should be allowed to live their own lives as they wish, whilst respecting the right of every other citizen.

Laing ended her letter by saying that she spoke in support of the inclusion of sexual orientation in the Goods and Services Section of the Equality Bill at a Stonewall meeting in Blackpool, and that the Government still tried to postpone including the clause.

“The Conservative Party has been ahead of the Government in promoting this issue for some time,” she said.