Labour attacks Tories on gay rights
- www.epolitix.com April 14, 2010
The foreign secretary has appeared with two former Conservative party members who claim to have left the party over its attitude to gay rights.
Over Easter shadow home secretary Chris Grayling generated controversy when it emerged he had questioned protections for gay and lesbian people.
Grayling cited the case of a B&B owner who turned away two gay men because she did not want them to stay in her premises.
He later said he had voted for the legislation that granted protection on the grounds of sexual orientation when accessing goods and services.
Today David Miliband tried to re-open the issue, sharing a platform with two former Tories to attack the Conservatives.
Anastasia Beaumont-Bott, a controversial figure during her time at Conservative Future, was a founder member of Tory gay group LGBTory.
Last week she said she had left the party and claimed she feels “guilty because as a gay woman affected by LGBT rights I am on record saying you should vote Conservative”.
David Heathcote, a Tory party organiser, claimed he has been “let down” by the Tories’ response to Grayling’s comments.
“I am proud to say that I have joined the Labour party,” he said.
Bott said there is no mention of gay rights in the Tory manifesto and she will be voting Labour on May 6.
Miliband said the “Tory head and the Tory heart are at odds”.
“When you peel away the rhetoric of the Big Society, what do you find?
“The message is about self-service not government at your service; on your bike not by your side.
“They say they’re empowering you, the truth is they are abandoning you.”
He added: “It’s not the Big Society but the Big Gamble.”
Last week shadow chancellor George Osborne met with gay rights activists and said the party is “open” to the concept of gay marriage.
Tory leader David Cameron told PinkNews.co.uk how his party would improve life for gay people if it wins power, although only one is included in the manifesto.
He cited recognising civil partnerships in the tax system, giving gay parents the same flexible parental leave as straight parents, adopting a “zero tolerance” approach to homophobic bullying and clearing the criminal records of men convicted for consensual homosexual offences.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has said he backs gay marriage.
