Closet Queens by Michael Bloch review – who knew there were so many gay MPs? | Polics books | The Guardian

Contents:

• JOHNSON HAS LGBT 'BLD SPOT', SAYS FIRST OPENLY GAY BET MISTER
• THE TE STORY OF ‘A VERY ENGLISH SNDAL’ AND THE TRIALS OF A CLOSETED GAY POLICIAN
• THE QUIET REVOLUTN: WHY BRA HAS MORE GAY MPS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE
• RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• THE GLAMOUR BOYS: GAY MPS WHO GAVE EARLY WARNG OF NAZI THREAT
• THE U.K. NOW HAS MORE GAY LAWMAKERS THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY
• GAY MPS: THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT SHOWS WTMSTER'S ATTU TOWARDS LGBT POLICIANS IS CHANGG
• THE UK’S PARLIAMENT IS STILL THE GAYT THE WORLD AFTER 2019 ELECTN
• CLOSET QUEENS BY MICHAEL BLOCH REVIEW – WHO KNEW THERE WERE SO MANY GAY MPS?

JOHNSON HAS LGBT 'BLD SPOT', SAYS FIRST OPENLY GAY BET MISTER

Media ptn, Lord Chris Smh talks about the language he wnsed parliament the 1990sBoris Johnson has a "bld spot" when to appotg LGBT+ people to his top team, the UK's first openly gay bet mister has Chris Smh, who was a member of Tony Blair's first bet 1997, said was a "matter of great regret" that there were currently no out bet urged the PM to diversify his top team "the next year or two". A ernment spokman said Mr Johnson was mted to improvg UK parliament now has s hight ever proportn of lbian, gay and bisexual MPs, cludg two non-bet misters, although there are no openly transgenr members of parliament. " Chris Smh's reerImage source, PA MediaImage ptn, Smh promot Brish film at Cann 1999A leadg figure New Labour, who beme an MP for a North London nstuency 1983The followg year, at a gay rights rally Rugby, Warwickshire, he said: "My name is Chris Smh.

I'm the Labour MP for Islgton South and Fsbury, and I'm gay"Smh's unscripted announcement - which earned a standg ovatn - was the first time a gay MP had chosen to e outLabour's Mreen Colquhoun - a pneerg femist whose ath at the age of 92 was announced earlier this month - had been open about her sexualy the 1970s, after the Daily Mail revealed she was a relatnship wh another womanIn 1997, Smh was appoted culture secretary, wh rponsibily for the Millennium Dome, the creative dtri and troducg ee mm entryHe later served as head of the Environment Agency, after steppg down as an MP 2005 and enterg the Hoe of LordsJte Greeng who was the first and, as thgs stand, only out lbian bet mister thks 's more of a "pipele" issue - that not as many LGBT+ MPs have risen through the ranks as had been Greeng served Thera May's Conservative bet, as tn secretary and equali mister, alongsi Secretary of State for Stland, David Munll, who also me out while office. Even then, was followed by dranian measur to prevent gay relatnships, cludg the Crimal Law Amendment Act of 1885, which ma “gross cency” between men—a purposely vague term—a crimal act.

THE TE STORY OF ‘A VERY ENGLISH SNDAL’ AND THE TRIALS OF A CLOSETED GAY POLICIAN

The panic over homosexualy ntued after World War II, wr historian Michael Bloch Closet Queens: Some 20th Century Brish Policians: “A fiercely homophobic Home Secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, aid by an equally puranil Director of Public Prosecutns, Sir Theobold Matthew, was termed to ‘rid England of this plague. Regardls of how historilly accurate the earl’s reactn to his servant’s behavr was, is te that gay experimentatn flourished upper-class, sex-segregated is like boardg school, the ary, and the clergy. Stephen Twigg was gay – a “practisg homosexual”, to e a formula still popular at the time – and though mours about Michael Portillo’s sexualy had been swirlg for years, he was most fely not.

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

Proportnally, though, the SNP is now by far the gayt party Wtmster, wh 12% of s MPs chalkg themselv up as sexual may scratch our heads as to the meang of the numbers: is a surprise that there are so many out Tori?

RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN

Homosexualy was crimalised England and Wal 1967 by reformg home secretary Roy Jenks (Stland had to wa until 1980, and Northern Ireland until 1982), but prosecutns for sexual offenc ntued to snare many gay men to the 90s. In addn, a vic prs culture of blackmail and exposure ma life difficult for gay people who wanted to participate ernment and Tatchell, who stood as the Labour ndidate for Bermondsey 1983, was the subject of a notorly homophobic mpaign by his Liberal opponents.

“There were lots of gay MPs, ” he says, “but they were all the closet, eher bee they were secure about their own sexualy, or bee they feared vilifitn the papers and selectn by their party. Photograph: Tony Harris/PAStill, Tatchell says there was “public revulsn” agast the homophobia he experienced, which he believ ma the tabloids more reluctant to nduct anti-gay wch-hunts, for a time, at least.

“As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry, ” Sunak told MP.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

Promisg the ernment would implement the “vast majory” of Etherton’s remendatns, Wallace said he would fully update the Commons a formal bate about the issue after the about pensatn, Wallace said he hoped to fd “an elegant solutn that match the need and the requirements of those dividuals”, promisg to set this out after Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, was among mpaigners who weled the apology. Starmer said one of his nstuents, Ken Wright, a former RAF service member who was “forced to leave the job he loved simply bee he was gay”, was the public gallery to hear the apology.

Image source, Emma RileyImage ptn, Rad operator Emma Riley was discharged om the Navy for beg a lbian the 1990sRishi Sunak has apologised for the historil treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the ary for beg PM lled the ban an "appallg failure" of the Brish was illegal to be gay the Brish ary until 2000 - wh thoands of veterans thought to be affected. Acrdg to the report, the Mistry of Defence said at the time that jtifitn for the policy clud "matenance of operatnal effectivens and efficiency" - but the report said there had been an "prehensible policy of homophobic bigotry" the armed forc. It heard shockg acunts of homophobia, bullyg, blackmail, sexual asslts, "disgraceful" medil examatns, and nversn mak 49 remendatns to the ernment cludg:Affected veterans to be given an "appropriate fancial reward" pped at £50m overallThe rtoratn of medals that had to be hand back on dismissal or dischargeThe clarifitn of pensn rights The prentatn of a special veterans' badgeThe ernment said would rpond full after summer of the veterans affected watched the PM's public of them, Emma Riley, 51, was a Royal Navy rad operator for three years before she was arrted and discharged for beg a lbian after tellg a lleague her sexualy the early told BBC News she weled the report, and hoped would be put to place "swiftly.

THE GLAMOUR BOYS: GAY MPS WHO GAVE EARLY WARNG OF NAZI THREAT

"Olympian Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, lled the publitn of the report a "historic moment", while Cathere Dixon, a former army officer who is now vice chair at Stonewall, said was "an important step towards jtice" for those whose ary reers were "ed" bee of their sexualy. Many still have a crimal rerd to this also tails how some veterans faced a plete loss of e, while others were emed eligible to claim their pensn bee of their report more than 20 years after four servicemen and women, who were sacked for beg gay, won a se the European Court of Human Rights and overturned the armed forc chary Royal Brish Legn lled on the ernment to accept the report's remendatns chary's director general Charl Byrne weled both the report and Mr Sunak's "landmark apology", sayg many people who had dited their liv to the untry were "forced or felt prsured to leave the armed forc, and this mistreatment stroyed or shortened their reer". A group of mps led by Ben Bradshaw, a gay Anglin, is lookg at ways to amend the legislatn to allow willg prits and parish to take part, which they argue uld also help boost dwdlg numbers the aisl.

“As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry, ” Sunak told Parliament. Veterans’ ttimoni “give shockg evince of a culture of homophobia, and of bullyg, blackmail and sexual asslts, abive vtigatns to sexual orientatn and sexual preference, disgraceful medil examatns, cludg nversn therapy, ” the report said.

THE U.K. NOW HAS MORE GAY LAWMAKERS THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY

“From a personal pot of view, the ban affected me terms of who I was and what I uldn’t be for 34 years, ” Holm ban on homosexualy was abandoned 2000, when the European Court of Human Rights led favor of four service personnel who were vtigated and then discharged bee of their sexualy. His sexualy marked a signifint moment Brish LGBT polics as he beme the first openly gay MP the 1980s, as well as the first to be appoted to the bet wh his appotment as Culture Secretary Bryant, the shadow lear of the Hoe of Commons who anised the MPs and peers for the photo, said: "For years, Chris was the only one. Four of them later died extraordary untold story of gay and bisexual Brish policians and their bravery the send world war has been unearthed by Chris Bryant, Labour MP for Rhondda.

’ Photograph: Phil WarrenBut the treatment of Jews and the assassatn of homosexuals Hler’s purge of polil opponents the Night of the Long Kniv 1934 propelled the so-lled Glamour Boys to vehemently oppose what they wnsed takg place. ”Homosexualy Bra remaed illegal until 1967, and the men lived their liv practised subterfuge: fflg bedsheets a send bedroom to pretend their lover had slept there, changg pronouns om him to her and he to she to talk about their partners.

Speakg to the Hoe of Commons on Wednday, Brish Prime Mister Rishi Sunak apologized to the natn’s LGBTQ ary veterans for what he termed [a] “perd, many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry.

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

Speakg at the last Prime Mister’s Qutn Time before Parliament’s summer break, Sunak’s apology me after the report released this week, which had been prevly leaked May, nfirmed that gay and lbian Brish soldiers, airmen and sailors were subjected to horrific electroshock treatment.

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

Addnally, PkNewsUK reported, gay and lbian servicemembers were forced to endure so-lled “nversn therapy, ” sexual asslt, unwarranted surveillance and blackmail om their superrs between 1967, when homosexualy was partially crimalized, and 2000, when the ban on gay soldiers servg the ary was lifted. 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.

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. A succsn of recent reforms – equalisatn of the age of nsent, the legalisatn of same-sex marriag, the right of gay upl to adopt – have been received wh equanimy by the great Brish public. He has, however, managed to pile an entertag, (though not prient) and ocsnally tennt acunt of the sex liv of some of Bra’s most lourful and proment is surprisg is that there were rather more secretly gay MPs than anyone imaged.

CLOSET QUEENS BY MICHAEL BLOCH REVIEW – WHO KNEW THERE WERE SO MANY GAY MPS?

Maclan’s 1959-60 bet “clud a homosexual or bisexual foreign secretary, chancellor of the exchequer, lonial secretary, health secretary and mister of labour, and was prid over by a prime mister who was moured to have been expelled om Eton for homosexualy”. Although the late Victorian perd was swept by a wave of puranism, homosexuals flourished the public schools, armed forc and polics and, providg they were discreet and well-nnected, they were left unmolted by those charged wh enforcg the law.

Proment gay statmen the 1890s are said to have clud the prime mister, Lord Rosebery, “Loulou” Harurt (son of the chancellor), William Lygon (the seventh Earl Bechamp), Liberals and Old Etonians all. Bechamp was immortalised by Evelyn Wgh (a iend of the fay) as Lord Marchma Brishead of the behavur documented here, whether the perpetrators were gay or heterosexual, would have been sndalo or distasteful any era.

5 of the most powerful LGBT policians the world: om Joe Bin’s bet pick Pete Buttigieg, to Germany’s Jens Spahn and the gay prime misters of Serbia and LuxembourgJt a few s ago would have been all but nceivable for a polician – or any official a posn of power – to publicly e out as gay or lbian. Photo: AFPFormerly the celebrated mayor of South Bend, Indiana, om 2012-2020, Pete Buttigieg went on to n a mendable mpaign durg the Democratic Party’s race to fd their 2020 printial ndidate – markg the first n for US print by an openly gay person.