Politics of the pink vote

Posted by Alex Finnegan at Fri, 03/07/2009 - 10:51am in

The rainbow flags will be flying in Soho this weekend as London celebrates Gay Pride.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity, Westminster's politicians have been falling over themselves to prove their gay credentials.

Earlier in the week, David Cameron said "sorry" for Section 28, the law which banned the "promotion" of homosexuality in schools.  Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of Stonewall, described the apology as "historic".

In a reversal of historic trends, it appears that the Conservatives have certainly made it possible once again for gay men and women to vote for them.

A poll conducted by Jake, the professional gay networking organisation, found that out of over 600 gay men and women, 38% said they would vote Conservative if an election was held tomorrow, while only 20% would vote Labour - figures which mirror the national polling preferences too.

In constituencies in London, the key battleground for next year's election, the 'pink vote' could be decisive. 

Last night, the National Portrait Gallery played host to a debate between senior gay political figures about which party could offer the gay vote more.

Ben Bradshaw MP (the new Secretary of State for Culture), Chris Bryant MP (Foreign Officer Minister), Nick Herbert MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Defra), Stephen Williams MP (Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Universities) and Nick Boles (PPC for Grantham) were all in attendance.

There was even a brief appearance from Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife.

The Gallery is currently exhibiting a 'Gay Icon' series in which leading gay figures have chosen portraits of their favourite icons. The choices ranged from Virginia Woolf to Quentin Crisp to Alan Turing to Will Young.

However, of all the politicians there last night, all of whom were articulate and impressive, it was Nick Herbert MP who stood out.  

In his speech, he gave credit to the Labour Government for establishing the legal framework for gay equality and was honest about previous Conservative failings in this area. He quoted David Cameron's first conference speech when the new leader stated that marriage between two men was equally valued as marriage between a man and a woman, but Herbert reminded the audience that it was important to remain vigilant in the future.

His honesty, eloquence and not to mention dashing good lucks seemed to go down well with an appreciative audience!

It is often said that gay men and women are the first to start a new trend and are always just one step ahead of the curve.

Labour strategists may be conceeding that it would be ironic indeed, if, after all the progress Labour has made over the last ten years, it is the Conservatives who turn out to be the biggest beneficiaries of the pink vote at the next election.

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