Elton John: ‘Gordon Brown doesn’t understand AIDS problem’
Gay singer Elton John has said he cannot guarantee the Labour Party his vote.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph’s Mandrake column at his AIDS Foundation Winter Ball on Saturday, the star said he did not feel Brown had grasped the “extent” of the rise in HIV infections.
He said: “Gordon Brown is a friend, but neither of us [himself and civil partner David Furnish] feels able to guarantee him our vote at the election.”
When asked whether this was related to a recent Health Protection Agency report which suggested HIV infections had risen by eight per cent last year, he said: “I have talked to Gordon about it, but I am not sure he grasps the extent of the problem.”
“People were more aware of the disease because of the uncompromising advertising campaign that [Margaret Thatcher’s] government ran,” he added.
“Now people seem to believe that they are invincible. Yes, sure, they can take pills when they become infected, but they seem to have no idea of the side-effects of these pills and the impact the condition has on their lives.”
John has described himself as a “Labour man” in the past, although he and Furnish donated £10,495 each to the Liberal Democrats last year.
