Cautious welcome for first Conservative gay conference

Tuesday, 30 March 2004 12:00 AM

The Conservative Party has said it will learn from the experience of hosting its first gay summit.

The conference, held yesterday at Westminster, was part of a new Tory bid to represent all sections of society.

Until recently the Conservative Party still backed the controversial Section 28 clause which bans councils from promoting homosexuality and was introduced by the Thatcher government.

The gathering was tentatively welcomed by many gay rights campaigners. However, some advocates of gay rights have dismissed the summit as cynical electioneering.

Conservative party youth spokesman, Charles Hendry, who organised the event, said he understood that people were suspicious of the change of tack.

"What we're doing today isn't superficial, it isn't pulling a stunt. This isn't an overnight transformation. It's not saying that the Conservative Party has completely changed. What we're saying is that we want to listen to the views of people across the community," he added.

Shadow health and education secretary Tim Yeo told the summit: "We want to be a party that represents all sections of our society and helps people to achieve their own aspirations.

"We believe in the individual, we believe in allowing people to live their lives as they choose and we believe that it is not for the state to interfere in people's lives."

David Gold, one of three openly-gay prospective parliamentary candidates at the meeting, said: "Contrary to public belief the Conservative party has always had huge numbers of gay members."

MPs were urged during the meeting to back the civil partnerships bill, published tomorrow, which promotes equal financial and legal rights for gay couples.

Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terence Higgins Trust, said the Conservative Party must back its sentiments with action by backing the bill in order to sway the UK's five million gay voters.

Tory leader Michael Howard said last month that he would back the civil partnerships bill in a recognition that "families are changing". However, he also recently demanded that his predecessor, Iain Duncan Smith, impose a three-line whip to oppose gay adoptions and only five of 165 Tory MPs attended the summit.

Met police commander Brian Paddick sceptically told the conference: "(The Conservative Party's) track record on gay and lesbian issues has not been good. It just remains to be seen whether there has been a genuine change of heart."

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