Tories lose lesbian and gay support

Chris Grayling, you may remember, is the Tory shadow Home Secretary, who said that B&B owners should have the right to turn away lesbian and gay couples. This currently contravenes the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 and therefore suggests that, should the Tories win, they may seek to amend the Act.


A number of observers also noted that David Cameron edited out a reference to "gays and straights" in his speech about the Tories turning to the "great ignored", where he listed "young and old, black and white, Christian and Muslim", etc. 


Now the chairperson of the main Conservative lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group LGBTory, Anastasia Beaumont-Bott, has declared she is now voting Labour – in disgust at David Cameron's failure to reprimand Grayling

It's been in my head for a while to speak out, but the Chris Grayling issue has made me realise that a year-and-a-half ago, I was someone who was standing up and telling gay people that they should vote for Mr Cameron. But I became disillusioned after meeting one too many people in that party who were not like what the leader was saying the party was about.

So much for the new Tories!


Please check out our LGBT manifesto, which was published today:


Fight homophobia
Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transsexual (LGBT) people face a thousand obstacles, from discrimination at work and victimisation at school, through to bullying at home and violence on the street. The atmosphere of hatred against sexual minorities frequently spills over into brutal attacks – like the recent murders of Ian Baynham and Michael Causer.


One in five LGBT people in the UK have been attacked in the last three years. Recent reforms have made discrimination against lesbians and gays illegal. But from the pulpit to the classroom, hatred is still being whipped up against people who do not conform to the “norm”.


Tory shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling recently advocated the idea of allowing B&B owners to turn away lesbian and gay couples. If this is made legal, then bigots across the country will be given free rein.


The deep roots of the oppression of lesbians and gays lie in the capitalist system, which wants us to live in standard family units. Anticapitalists, on the other hand, stand for the complete liberation of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people. 

• Fight all discrimination – no jobs should be barred to lesbians or gays, not in the military, the clergy or anywhere else
• Equal rights to marry, have children, adopt
• No discrimination on grounds of lifestyle 
• Organise self-defence against homophobic “queer-bashing” attacks.