Conservative Party ‘to prioritise gay rights’
Reaching out to gay rights groups is one of Tory leader David Cameron’s top five priorities, it has been claimed.
A shadow cabinet member told ConservativeHome.com blogger Tim Montgomerie that the move is part of Cameron’s drive “to show that ‘new Toryism’ is still alive and kicking”.
Along with outreach to gay groups, his other priorities will include increasing promotion of female and ethnic minority candidates, concentrating on environmental policies, more focus on Tory spending on the NHS and international development and increasing social justice initiatives, the unnamed MP claimed.
At the time of publication, a response had not yet been received from the Conservative Party.
PinkNews.co.uk reported last week that Cameron is to attend the Pride at Paramount event on June 30th, which is a private party hosted by Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Stourbridge Margot James, who is openly gay.
Speaking in February in an interview with Total Politics magazine, Cameron claimed his support for civil partnerships is proof the party backs gay rights.
Referring to his speech at the annual meeting of party activists in 2006, he said: “I stood up in front of a Conservative conference, my first one as leader, and said that marriage was important, and as far as I was concerned it didn’t matter whether it was between a man and a woman, a man and a man or a woman and a woman,” he said.
“No other Conservative leader has ever done that. I don’t think any Labour leader has done that. Even since then. The good thing was that they applauded.”
However, the opposition leader admitted there was still “work to do” among members of his party.
