PinkNews.co.uk poll: Tories top pick for gay voters, Greens top for EU election
A survey of PinkNews.co.uk readers has found that support for Labour has dropped dramatically since the last general election.
Thirty-seven per cent of the 270 respondents had voted for Labour in May 2005, compared with 24 per cent for Liberal Democrats and 23 per cent who voted Conservative.
However, 39 per cent of respondents said they planned to vote Tory in the next general election, compared to only 29 per cent for Labour.
Regarding the European elections, the Green party came out on top with 28 per cent of those surveyed planning to vote for the party. This was followed by 23 per cent for Conservative and 20 per cent for Labour.
Five per cent planned to vote for UKIP, while only 0.4 per cent said they would vote for the BNP.
Fifty-nine per cent of readers said they were “very worried” about the BNP gaining seats in Thursday’s elections, compared with 23 per cent who said they were “quite worried” and 18 per cent who said they were not worried.
In keeping with reports that David Cameron is planning to prioritise outreach to gay groups, we asked whether the Conservative Party had become more gay-friendly. While 37 per cent said yes, 63 per cent believed they had not.
Theresa May, the Shadow Minister for Women and Equality, said: “No politician should ever read too much into one poll, but I am pleased to see the figures for the general election reflecting the desire for change that we see elsewhere. With all the current concerns about politics and politicians I believe we need a general election sooner rather than later. Only a general election now will give people the chance to make their voice heard on the need for change.”
Katie Hanson, co-chair of LGBT Labour, commented: “It’s no secret that Labour is going through a tough time in the polls at the moment, and this will be reflected amongst gay voters like everyone else.
“But there is a real danger if people think the Tories have changed when it comes to gay rights. David Cameron claims they’ve changed, but he and other Tory MPs are still doing what they’ve always done by voting against equal rights for LGBT people.
“In the last year, Tory MPs tried to block Labour’s work on homophobic hate crime, voted against the lesbian fertility rights and sought to wreck the Equality Bill. Next week the Tories will show their true colours when they team up with variety of right wing homophobic parties in Europe. Only Labour has delivered equality, and only Labour will protect and strengthen our hard-won rights.”
Gay rights activist and Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford East Peter Tatchell said: “I am not surprised that the Greens have topped the poll. Britain’s two Green MEPs – Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert – have been at the forefront promoting LGBT human rights in the European Parliament. The Greens are unique. We are the only party that is calling for an end to the ban on same-sex marriage in the UK and the rest of Europe. It is only the Greens who are pushing for the legalisation of same-sex civil
marriage throughout the EU.
“More and more people realise that the Greens represent a fresh, clean, progressive alternative to the tainted big three parties. We are not just an environmental protection party. We are also the party of democracy, human rights, civil liberties and social justice.”
