The culture secretary, Ben Bradshaw, asserts that "a deep strain of homophobia still exists on the Conservative benches". The Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant goes further and warns that "if gays vote Tory they will rue the day very soon". It's not hard to detect the desperation in these shrill outbursts – and with good reason. A reputable new poll has found that 38% of gay men intend to vote Conservative at the next election – more than any other party, and a swing away from Labour of 14.2%.
It is this seeming ingratitude that Labour is unable to bear. It cannot comprehend that gay people might be as repelled by the government as everyone else. So now it resorts to pitiful efforts to scare them. "Don't trust the Tories," it says, while preposterously claiming that we'll reverse all the progress towards gay equality that's been made.
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