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Last month, a middle-aged gay couple were barred from sharing a room at a B&B because of their sexual orientation. It kicked off a bit of a storm, culminating rather clumsily for the Tories in the form of Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary. He was recorded off-camera suggesting B&B owners, unlike hotels, should have the right to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation as it was their own home in question. The off-the-cuff statement seemed to contradict not only the law pertaining to situations just like the one involving the gay couple, but Grayling's vote in favour of the law itself in 2007. Having closely followed Dave Cameron's uncomfortable interview with Gay Times a few days earlier, the timing could not have been worse. With an election looming, it seemed like the Tories true colours were finally shining through. Despite Cameron's most fervent protestations, one really wondered whether their party had really changed. Grayling disappeared off the face of the earth for nearly a week, before reappearing briefly to offer a feeble apology and explanation.
Initially, there was some chatter about this being the final straw for his inevitable drop from the Tory Frontbench, and his colleagues didn't even bother trying to support him in the immediate aftermath. But it seems like Cameron has forgiven him again and given Grayling yet another chance. Let's see how long this one lasts. Already, a poll conducted by PinkNews, Europe's largest gay news publication, suggests a fall in LGBT support, and there has been one potentially real significant casualty. The founder (Anastasia Beaumont-Bott) of LGBTory, the biggest Conservative group campaigning for gay rights, has announced her intention to vote Labour. Will others follow her lead?
Conventional wisdom may suggest that Labour and the Lib Dems would be substantially more gay-friendly than the Conservatives, but think again. According to analysis of MPs' votes in the latest Parliament (2005-10) conducted by Stonewall, the LGBT charity, George Osborne (Shadow Chancellor) and Francis Maude (fellow Tory MP) have better recent voting records on gay equality than one in five Lib Dem MPs. And what's more? Kate Hoey, the least gay-friendly of all Labour MPs, has a voting record worse than more than 120 Tories.
Surprised? Well you shouldn't be. According to a survey conducted in the week ending 24 March by Gaydar, the gay social networking site, 1,500 respondents were asked who they voted for in the 2005 general election and who they would vote for in next month's general election. The results were startling. In 2005, Labour was easily the winner with 39.9% of the gay vote, compared to 22.1% for the Tories and 19.8% for the Lib Dems. That the Lib Dems were only the third most popular party really shook me up. But it gets better/worse, depending on how you look at it. Bearing in mind the survey coincided with Cameron's uncomfortable interview and preceded Grayling's comments, 28% of the respondents said they would vote Conservative on May 6th. A higher percentage than both Labour and the Lib Dems with 27.5% and 27% respectively. Sure it's a tight race between them, but if you ask me, there's everything to play for. Gay-m on!
Initially, there was some chatter about this being the final straw for his inevitable drop from the Tory Frontbench, and his colleagues didn't even bother trying to support him in the immediate aftermath. But it seems like Cameron has forgiven him again and given Grayling yet another chance. Let's see how long this one lasts. Already, a poll conducted by PinkNews, Europe's largest gay news publication, suggests a fall in LGBT support, and there has been one potentially real significant casualty. The founder (Anastasia Beaumont-Bott) of LGBTory, the biggest Conservative group campaigning for gay rights, has announced her intention to vote Labour. Will others follow her lead?
Conventional wisdom may suggest that Labour and the Lib Dems would be substantially more gay-friendly than the Conservatives, but think again. According to analysis of MPs' votes in the latest Parliament (2005-10) conducted by Stonewall, the LGBT charity, George Osborne (Shadow Chancellor) and Francis Maude (fellow Tory MP) have better recent voting records on gay equality than one in five Lib Dem MPs. And what's more? Kate Hoey, the least gay-friendly of all Labour MPs, has a voting record worse than more than 120 Tories.
Surprised? Well you shouldn't be. According to a survey conducted in the week ending 24 March by Gaydar, the gay social networking site, 1,500 respondents were asked who they voted for in the 2005 general election and who they would vote for in next month's general election. The results were startling. In 2005, Labour was easily the winner with 39.9% of the gay vote, compared to 22.1% for the Tories and 19.8% for the Lib Dems. That the Lib Dems were only the third most popular party really shook me up. But it gets better/worse, depending on how you look at it. Bearing in mind the survey coincided with Cameron's uncomfortable interview and preceded Grayling's comments, 28% of the respondents said they would vote Conservative on May 6th. A higher percentage than both Labour and the Lib Dems with 27.5% and 27% respectively. Sure it's a tight race between them, but if you ask me, there's everything to play for. Gay-m on!
