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At the Conservative Party’s first Gay Pride event a few weeks ago, out MP Nick Hewitt announced, “the Left does not own gay people!” The ‘LGBTory’ audience cheered so enthusiastically it seemed he was correcting an eons-old misapprehension, writes Siobhan McGuirk.

Yet it is undeniable that gay campaign groups have traditionally found their alliances on the left, and that LGBT equality is still considered a ‘liberal’ concern.

But homosexuality and right-wing values are strange bedfellows, surely? Not according to Hewitt, or lesbian Party Vice-Chair Margot James. Their presence at Conservative Pride made a clear statement: the Tories want you!

‘Gay-friendly’ Conservatives

Can we really believe that a Party whose members have largely opposed an equal age of sexual consent for homosexuals, gay military service personnel and civil partnerships has really changed its attitude?

At London Pride this year David Cameron publicly apologised for Section 28, the infamous Tory law which banned ‘teaching acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’.

Since then the Conservatives have been busy grabbing headlines and re-branding the Party for voters with LGBT issues in mind.

Their work has been somewhat undermined by their links to unabashedly homophobic parties in the European Parliament, as well as Cameron’s own voting record: in 2008 he voted against equal access to IVF treatment for lesbian couples and in 2003, to retain Section 28 (yep, the same one he just apologised for).

Pointing out that no actual Tory policies on LBGT equality have been developed, gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell described the Conservative leader as “all talk and no action on gay rights”.

The rhetoric is unsurprising. Modern political parties are slick, election fighting machines, and principles are an increasingly secondary concern. This Tory charm offensive is designed to let the past be forgotten, forgiven, or at least conveniently overlooked.

Labour’s gay rights record

Of course their rivals have been quick to highlight Conservative ‘hypocrisy’. In July 09 Labour Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant ominously stated, “If gays vote Tory, they will rue the day very soon.”

If there is a danger in berating the Tories’ track record, however, it’s the false iconising of Labour’s actions in government. Many gay rights campaigners still struggle against the dug-in heels of the incumbents.

Harriet Harman is refusing to add LGBTs to the anti-harassment clause of her Equality Bill and, while Gordon Brown hails civil partnerships as a Labour achievement, calls for equal marriage rights are blissfully ignored. No mainstream Party has a perfect record on LGBT issues.

Underlying this whole debate is the assumption that ‘gay people’ can be owned, wooed or convinced to vote one way or another, on mass. But does the suggestion of a ‘pink vote’ offer insult or insight into our political perspectives?

The pink vote

A recent lesbilicious poll found that over 90% of readers consider LGBT policies when voting. The result reveals that we do think about these issues, but it should not suggest that everyone draws the same conclusions or votes for the same party.

Hannah, a life-long Conservative, confirms that she is expected to have a particular political leaning because of her sexuality.

“On the scene there’s an expectation that you don’t vote Tory. My gay friends say ‘how can you?!’ But I’ve been brought up to vote Tory so it’s just natural for me,” she says.

Has Cameron’s Section 28 apology changed anything? Hannah is surprisingly cynical: “I don’t think there was a need for it really. It’s obvious we’ve moved with the times by now. It doesn’t do any harm of course, and can only be good for getting votes.”

There are few lesbian voices within the Tory Party, however. At last years Conservative Conference Margot James confessed to the BBC “I have yet to meet another (gay) woman here, I regret to say - but we do have a marvellous number of gay men”. ‘Gay-friendly’ or not, party politics are still male dominated.

Alternatives

Jennie, a self-defined queer activist, agrees that women’s voices are massively under-represented in UK politics. She has little time for the mainstream parties and votes Green, she says, precisely because “they have a rubbish LGBT policy and a rubbish women’s policy, but I can change that from the inside. They’re a party that actually listens to its members.”

So LGBT and Women’s issues are still her priority? Jennie reflects for a moment. “I have to be happy with their general outlook first,” she says. “I’m thinking about issues for everyone when I vote”.

With little over two thirds of the population turning out to vote in the 2005 general election, perhaps it is misleading to presume that gay people, as a minority, are politically active. After all, the Lesbilicious poll only asked voters about their motivations. What about those who abstain?

“All politicians lie!” says Kate, who chooses not to vote. “If we were all made to vote the country would be a really different place… which might not be a good thing!”

What if voting was mandatory, would LGBT issues factor in her decision? “Actually, no,” she replies. “I believe that some things that are good for me, like lesbians getting fertility treatment, aren’t good for society.”

Kate pauses and then adds “I believe that children need a mother and a father, but I know I’m not expected to say that”.

Another expectation confounded. The idea of a homogenous ‘pink vote’ is fading fast.

Looking beyond gay issues

A wide range of policies affect different LGBT people in diverse ways. We can’t be expected to disregard policies concerning the economy, public services or ecology because they are not ‘gay’ issues.

Despite the shallow nature of the ‘battle for the pink vote’ playing out in newspapers, at least the politics of lasting LGBT inequality is getting air-time.

Only time will tell whether or not that affects our votes, or has an impact on who sits in Parliament next May.

Posted in: Campaigns & Politics, Exclusives |