Interesting discussions...

[mrph]

The Labour Party, the Conservative Party and allegations of homophobia...

For what it's worth, I have to agree with the Conservatives on this one. They've changed. I still have a number of very major disagreeents with their policies, but IMO it's a few years too late for Labour to take this particular tack...

Comments

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

They may be making all the right noises, but I can't say I'm convinced.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

To be fair, I don't think it's 'Labour taking that tack' - it's two (gay) Labour MPs expressing their opinion. Admittedly they're pretty senior MPs, but I don't think it's reasonable to characterise it as 'party line'.

On a related note, this is the second year running that the Conservative Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has failed to directly address the city's LGBT Pride rally. At least this year he made a taped speech, which is an improvement on last year where he posed for a couple of uncomfortable-looking photos before the parade then buggered off, but it doesn't make him look good. Particularly as his predecessor always made a point of being there.

[hsb.livejournal.com]

The thing is, though, Ken made a point of turning up/organising events for minority groups, whether that means LGBT or race-based groups. Boris doesn't, and we knew he wouldn't when the election came around.

I think that there's a generational thing among Tories which puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to countering homophobia in their own ranks. They tend to attract older people, and unless their kids have come out to them, most straight people in that age group probably don't think much about current issues for the gay community. And they don't tend to challenge others on their views in this area, because that's Not Done. They are probably too embarrassed to mention sex.

What I find interesting is that, shock horror, survey shows that gay people don't vote exclusively on gay issues, otherwise Labour would be winning in terms of voting intentions, and not third. There's probably some strategist somewhere who hasn't noticed that yet.

H

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

It's rather depressing, really. Boris actually made an election pledge of refusing to support 'minority groups'. People knew he was a small-minded bigot, and voted for him anyway.

[zotz]

Well, Bradshaw was a bit more specific than that - he said on the Conservative benches, so he was talking about the parliamentary party rather than the party as a whole.

Sir Edward Heath, Conservative Prime Minister

[aoakley.livejournal.com]

First Female Prime Minister - Conservative - Margaret Thatcher

First "Lifelong Batchellor" Prime Minister - Conservative - Edward Heath

"Lifelong Batchellor" was about as out as a gay man was allowed to be in the 1970s, regardless of whichever party he came from. Sir Edward Heath ticked far more gay boxes than Stephen Fry, for example.

I challenge you to find a female Labour leader and a lifelong unmarried Labour leader.

Or, as my wife put it "Cameron's from Eton, I bet he's taken it up the arse." Er, quite.

[aoakley.livejournal.com]

Labour demonstrate their "support" for LGBT by addresing parades.

Conservatives demonstrate their support by having already had a "lifelong batchellor" as Prime Minister in the 1970s. We've already had our first gay prime minister. He was Edward Heath. Read between the lines! "Lifelong Batchellor" in the 1970s..?

We currently have two openly gay shadow ministers on the Conservative front bench.

With Labour, it's all about talking, speeches and spin. With the Conservatives, it doesn't matter about your background. Male, female, gay, black, white, Old Etonian, grocer's daughter, whatever - it doesn't matter in the Conservative party. What matters for Conservatives is what you can achieve, not what you can talk about. Conservatives like me firmly believe that everyone can acheive on their own merits, without being pigeon-holed into minority categories. Frankly the Labour insistence that each person be categorised into "black", "gay", "disabled", "upper class" or whatever is demeaning to all concerned.

[zotz]

I'm rather startled by this attempt to turn Ted Heath into a gay icon. He didn't express his sexuality in any publicly disclosed way, and was as far as I can tell as likely to be a repressed straight as a repressed gay. Maggie was a woman, yes, that's a fair point, but her policies weren't exactly woman-friendly.

Bryant had an article yesterday on the subject, with particular reference to the parliamentary Tory party's voting record within the last couple of years. As an example, Cameron voted to insist on "the right to a father" last year, effectively denying IVF treatment to lesbians. That's not voting for gay and lesbian equality. He has several more. I would say the ball is definitely in their court.