‘Tory Pride and Prejudice’ is the new book by Michael McManus, which claims to be ‘a full and frank account of the Conservative Party’s attitude to LGBT rights since the Second World War’. So, are the Conservative party the new champions of the gay community? We sent our seriously Tory-skeptic Deputy Editor Lee Dalloway to find out more…
The idea came from my friend Will Timmins, who is an undergraduate at Goldsmith’s and grew up in the post-Section 28 era. He brings a very different perspective to mine, which was extremely helpful in both researching and drafting the book. The Conservative Party he knows is the party of Cameron and Osborne, where the party leadership has no hang-ups or prejudices at all. I wanted the book to be as comprehensive as possible, so I researched it very intensively. I raided archives, interviewed around 50 people – including John Major and Michael Howard – and ended up with over 1,000 citations.
How do you feel the Conservatives’ social attitudes in general have shifted since the 1950s?
The blurb for your book says “The Conservative party has finally embraced the concept of equal rights and become a haven of tolerance” – do you really believe that statement is true for the entire party? At the moment there seems to be a conflict between the traditional and more progressive members of the party.
The Tories now have more openly lesbian and gay MPs than all the other parties put together and the party rank-and-file now seem indifferent to the sexuality of potential candidates. They select purely on merit. I think it’s very healthy. Ironically, not giving a damn about what people do in their personal lives, especially in the privacy of their bedrooms, is a naturally Tory attitude. We instinctively believe in a smaller, less intrusive state that minds its own business. We also believe in equality before the law. It’s just taken a painfully long time for the party to apply that principle to LGBT matters.
Why do you feel the Conservatives appeal to certain gay men now after years of many people believing their basic rights were ignored?
Ironically, the Conservative Party has always been crammed full of gay men. It would have fallen apart without them. The basic Tory message – freedom, entrepreneurialism, getting the state off people’s backs – naturally appeals to many gay men. Happily, they can now be much more open in their political lives, as they can be in life generally. For generations, many gay men joined the party, but they were then forced to choose between a fulfilling personal life and a political career. Thanks to the prejudices of the “old guard”, countless good people were lost to political life and public service. It’s very sad. A lot of them talked to me for my book.
Do you honestly think that if the Tories had been in power all through the 1990s that we would have had half the advancements in LGBT rights that we gained via Labour? Do you think we would have civil partnerships now, for example?
Probably not. As David Cameron himself always readily admits, Tony Blair deserves much credit for fighting the good fight on equal rights. He not only abolished Section 28, but turned it (in 2001) into an election issue and put a stake right through its nasty heart. It was the official policy of the Conservative Party in 2001 to defend Section 28. That was morally wrong and politically misguided. In my book, Michael Howard actually apologises for Section 28. The Blair years also delivered an equal age of consent. That too was resisted by most Tories, but the overwhelming majority of the new generation of Tory MPs are perfectly happy with equality.
• Tory Pride and Prejudice is available in all good book stores now through Biteback Publishing.
