Is Cameron Really Gay Friendly?

Compassionate Conservative leader David Cameron has lost the plot on gay rights:

The Tory leader was pressed on why, in light of his recent pronouncements on gay rights, his MEPs refused to support a motion condemning a homophobic law in Lithuania.

He agreed in the interview that gay equality was a fundamental human right, before going on to say that the Tories usually had free votes on equality issues.

Cameron said he was unaware of this particular European vote, before insisting that he rarely issues instruction to MEPs “to vote in this way or that way because they have their own leader and their own group”.

Cameron has previously been criticised for pulling Tory MEPs out of the main centre-right grouping in the European parliament and forming a new group alongside colleagues from the Polish Law and Justice party, which has faced repeated accusations of homophobia.

The Tory leader told the Gay Times: “I’ve tried to have free votes where possible on these sorts of issues but, er … I’m responsible for votes here. Sorry, it’s not a very good answer.”

Pressed on whether free votes were appropriate for a fundamental human right, a clearly flustered Cameron said: “You’re right, you’re right. Sorry, sorry. You’re right … The two are very different. Sorry.”

Whoops. There you have it folks. The Tory leader either doesn’t understand that human rights are indivisible, or he’s just playing to a script which he’s lost track of. Either way it’s an appalling display by a man who wants to be Prime Minister within the next two months and a pretty strong demonstration for progressives toying with voting for someone less illiberal than New Labour, that the Tories are very much not that party. Whilst professing support for gay equality and rights he has the nerve to go on to say:

As the filmed interview draws to a close, Cameron also struggles to answer a question on whether Conservative peers would have a free vote on civil partnerships, or whether how the Tories voted would be decided by party whips.

Asked about an amendment to allow civil partnerships to take place in places of worship, Cameron said: “I think it’s an important debate, this, and I don’t rule out changes. I think it’s right there should be a free vote. It was a backbench amendment.”

This prompted the interviewer to tell Cameron: “If we vote for you, we want you to vote for us.”

The Tory leader said: “I do, I do. Do you know – Can we stop for a second?”

He’s about as sincere in his support for gay rights as Tony Blair was for civil liberties and the rule of law. Given that he clearly doesn’t understand human rights at all, it’s no wonder he thinks he can get away with trying to repeal the Human Rights Act. Should he become Prime Minister he must not be allowed to do so.

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