‘It’s part of who I am’: the gay Liberal MPs for whom the polil is more than personal | Coaln | The Guardian

Contents:

• RERD NUMBER OF OPENLY GAY MPS ELECTED TO HOE OF COMMONS
• 'YOU ARE A DANGER TO CIVILISATN': GAY POLICIANS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENC
• GAY MPS: THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT SHOWS WTMSTER'S ATTU TOWARDS LGBT POLICIANS IS CHANGG
• GAY MPS JTE GREENG AND NICK GIBB APPOTED AS MISTERS FOR EQUALY
• ‘IT’S PART OF WHO I AM’: THE GAY LIBERAL MPS FOR WHOM THE POLIL IS MORE THAN PERSONAL
• THE QUIET REVOLUTN: WHY BRA HAS MORE GAY MPS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE
• MPS BACK GAY SEX AT 16
• THE UK’S PARLIAMENT IS STILL THE GAYT THE WORLD AFTER 2019 ELECTN
• ATRALIA’S ANTI-GAY MPS PLOT TO ‘WRECK’ EQUAL MARRIAGE LAW EVEN IF PEOPLE VOTE Y

RERD NUMBER OF OPENLY GAY MPS ELECTED TO HOE OF COMMONS

But the make-up of the Commons is changg, wh rerd-breakg stris beg ma the 2017 general vote livered the most diverse Hoe of Commons ever wh a rise the number of women, LGBT and ethnic mory MPs has also been an crease MPs who went to state school as well as a boost for disabled is how breaks down:Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and TransgenrThere are 45 MPs who openly fe themselv as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (LGBT), acrdg to senr ernment equaly advisor John is a 40% crease om the 2015 electn - when there were 32 - and clus 19 om Labour, 19 om the Tori and 7 om the SNP. Wrg Pk News, she said: "Visibily matters, and mak easier for young people particular to know that they n go jt as far whether they are gay or straight. "His electorate of Fadn voted almost 62 per cent favour of makg gay marriage 150-seat Parliament was already down to 149, wh former member for Bennelong John Alexanr fightg a by-electn to w back his MP Wayne Swan was absent om Parliament on Thursday attendg a Uned Natns enomic nference Bangkok but his office has nfirmed he planned to vote 8 Dec 2017Fri 8 Dec 2017 at 4:42am, updated 8 Dec 2017Fri 8 Dec 2017 at 1:38pm.

MPs om across the polil spectm have spoken about their experienc as gay policians, cludg the Stland secretary, David Munll, who said he believed he would have been forced to rign om the bet had he e out 20 years recently parted Sttish Labour lear, Kezia Dugdale, who had never spoken before about her experience, said she was forced to speak publicly about her sexualy followg a story a natnal magaze. ”The Labour MP Chris Bryant, a former Church of England prit, said he had stggled wh his fah and sexualy, and had enuntered damagg homophobia as an MP, cludg beg told he was a threat to civilisatn. Bizarrely, that was the moment I me out, ” she who spoke to the programme clud the Labour peer Chris Smh, the first MP to publicly say he was gay and the first to clare that he was HIV-posive, who said he had wanted to show young people was possible to be hont about their sexualy public life.

'YOU ARE A DANGER TO CIVILISATN': GAY POLICIANS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENC

“The on that meant the most were on that said: ‘Thank you, ’s ma easier for me, ’” Smh SNP MP Joanna Cherry, who said she had ambns as a young woman to be a Labour MP, revealed that she had ially been put off a reer polics bee of fears about homophobia, prompted by the anti-gay mpaign agast Peter Tatchell when he stood as a ndidate Bermondsey. Sign up for the View om Wtmster email for expert analysis straight to your boxGet our ee View om Wtmster emailBrish voters returned a rerd number of LGBTQ MPs to Parliament the general gay, lbian or bi MPs were elected on Thursday – six more than the prev SNP registered the largt proportn of LGBTQ elected members s parliamentary party, wh seven of s 35 MPs intifyg as such.

Dpe the apparent progrs, chari have lled for polil parti to be more announcement that Thera May would form a new ernment wh support om Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unnist Party (DUP) raised ncerns om LGBT and women’s rights DUP, one of the most socially nservative parti Europe, has fought to mata tight rtrictns on abortn and oppos gay marriage. Sign up for the View om Wtmster email for expert analysis straight to your boxGet our ee View om Wtmster emailOne of the most remarkable, yet pleasg, statistics that fascated polil number-cnchers at last year’s electn was that the Hoe of Commons end up wh 32 lbian, gay and bisexual MPs.

LGBT History Month is celebrated Febary – and this photograph of 28 MPs and peers is a b of history self, as is the largt number of publicly out parliamentarians pictured together at one time, om a parliament wh more gay members than any the Barll, who prevly worked for the then First Mister of Stland, Alex Salmond, said: “I only me out to myself and to my fay durg the electn. Lord Chris Smh is the picture – he was the first openly gay MP the 1980s and also the first to be appoted to the bet when he beme Culture Secretary 1997.

GAY MPS: THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT SHOWS WTMSTER'S ATTU TOWARDS LGBT POLICIANS IS CHANGG

10 Ia Stewart The Milton Keyn South MP is a former puty chairman of LGBTory, and won plds for a speech durg the last parliament on how he was bullied at school for beg gay.

The pneers of LGBT rights 2015Show all 611 Chris Smh, Baron Smh of Fsbury As pla Chris Smh the 1980s, he ma history by beg the first openly gay man the Commons.

GAY MPS JTE GREENG AND NICK GIBB APPOTED AS MISTERS FOR EQUALY

13 Stuart Andrew Parliamentary private secretary to the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughl, he told the Commons three years ago of how he was once “beaten unnsc” a homophobic attack. 16 Brian Paddick, Baron Paddick of Brixton The two-time Liberal Democrat ndidate for London mayor was prevly famo for beg the untry’s most senr openly gay police officer.

19 Waheed Alli, Baron Alli of Norbury The 51-year-old is an openly gay Mlim who ma his fortune the media dtry before beg a peer 1998.

21 Mart Docherty Somethg of an extrovert, the SNP MP for Wt Dunbartonshire arrived at this photoshoot askg, loudly, “Where are the gays? 23 David Munll The Secretary of State for Stland beme the first ever openly gay Conservative bet mister last month, a cisn he said was “one of the most important” of his life.

‘IT’S PART OF WHO I AM’: THE GAY LIBERAL MPS FOR WHOM THE POLIL IS MORE THAN PERSONAL

26 Stewart McDonald The Glasgow South SNP MP, a member of the Commons Transport Select Commtee, clared his party to be the “gayt group Wtmster” last year, wh 12 per cent out.

In the UK there are currently 45 openly gay members the 650-member Hoe of Commons, or 7 percent. Natnal now has 35 members Parliament, none of which are openly gay. Openly gay Labour MPs clu newly-elected Wellgton list MP Ayha Verrall and Northte MP Shanan Halbert.

In 2009, Parliament named one of s 11 select mtee meetg rooms 'Rabow Room', dited to gay, lbian, and transgenr New Zealanrs. Nick Gibb, an out gay MP, has bee the Junr Mister for Equali.

THE QUIET REVOLUTN: WHY BRA HAS MORE GAY MPS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE

This means that the Mister and Junr Mister for Equali are both out as gay. When Trent Zimmerman won the North Sydney byelectn December, was the first time an openly gay man or woman had won a Hoe of Reprentativ the July electn, there are now three gay Liberal lower-hoe MPs: the former “eedom missner” Tim Wilson, a former head of the Natnal Retail Associatn, Trevor Evans, and speakg wh all three, is clear they are proud of this achievement.

MPS BACK GAY SEX AT 16

”Wilson c the crimalisatn of homosexual acts as an example of the evils of “public llective moraly” speaks wh equal passn when he says his grandmother would not be able to make sandwich her home kchen for Country Fire Authory volunteers bee of food safety laws – the nanny state terferg wh is a ls faiar face, g om the retailers’ peak body. He ced Atralia’s law nyg gay people accs to marriage and higher rat of prsn and suici among LGBTI his speech, some people had advised him that his sexualy was not an issue he need to reflect upon, he why his lleagu might have told him that, Zimmerman repli: “their msage was that I shouldn’t allow myself to be fed by my sexualy”. I am not parliament as a gay activist but is part of who I am.

THE UK’S PARLIAMENT IS STILL THE GAYT THE WORLD AFTER 2019 ELECTN

I thought the fact I got there as an openly gay person was worth celebratg. ”Zimmerman says sexualy “don’t fe me terms of my approach to polics – but you have a heightened sense of equaly and fairns, particularly growg up at a time that change is happeng but is still hard to e out and intify as gay” says that to avoid beg stereotyped, gay policians have to show they are “there for a whole broad range of polici, cludg enomic ernance and other social issu” did this tr arrive polics general and the Liberal party particular?

ATRALIA’S ANTI-GAY MPS PLOT TO ‘WRECK’ EQUAL MARRIAGE LAW EVEN IF PEOPLE VOTE Y

Wilson was attracted to the Liberal party at the age of 18 bee of the Kent ernment’s efforts to “liberalise the state away om the power of burecratic ntrol and the unn movement” Zimmerman is seen durg the 38th annual Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras para Sydney March. A fg issue for all members of the Turnbull ernment – gay or straight – will be the marriage equaly plebisce, expected late 2016 or early says the plebisce was “not my first preference but ’s the only way to get done and alt wh this parliament”.