Ivan Massow: Gay men may not realise it, but they are Tory
Gay men tend to be Tory-leaning in their political beliefs without even realising it, London mayoral candidate Ivan Massow has claimed.
Speaking to Attitude magazine, the gay businessman said that gay men have historically been “obliged” to “stand on the left and throw rocks at the right.”
Mr Massow was first attracted to the politics of the Conservative Party when he was a boy. He joined his local Young Conservatives and at age 14 became its chairman, the youngest in the country at the time.
Asked whether he faced criticism from the LGBT community for being a prominent Conservative supporter during the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, Mr Massow told journalist Paris Lees: “Look, I don’t want to bring out a violin, but the lack of support from the gay community at that time, because I attended a conference with Margaret Thatcher for example, really brought me down, because I couldn’t tell people what I was trying to achieve.
“And I had a very specific objective. Because I saw the politics of sexuality at the time being very much a case of them and us.
“So we were expected to join the left side, even though we might be quite entrepreneurial and want to own our own houses and believe in small government, and all the things I personally – and especially gay men – tend to be.
“Gay males don’t realise it, but when you start to dissemble, and ask them the questions that are multiple choice, they’re Tory. But you were obliged to stand on the left and throw rocks at the right. Almost as if they enjoyed it. It was like a class hatred thing and I didn’t see that as being productive.”
