#comeron

This week has seen the Prime Minister David Cameron in some pretty hot water about LGBT rights. It’s not that he doesn’t support them, quite the opposite. His progressive Conservatism has seen the introduction of equal marriage and further marital rights for LGBT individuals. Of course, there is always more to be done and personally I believe that this should be done through an approach to education which is inclusive of all genders and sexualities from an early age. However, Cameron’s support of LGBT rights didn’t stop him coming under fire on Radio 1’s live lounge and not for his own party, but for a party which he could form a coalition with, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

As most people agree, the outcome of the election in just under 2 weeks’ time is likely to result in a hung parliament where no party gains an outright majority. If and most probably when this does happen, there are a number of options that the political parties will be faced with in forming a government and a number of choices to make about how a future government will look. This could be a minority lead government which will struggle in passing primary legislation, or the most likely outcome of either a formal coalition such as the one we have had since 2010 or a more lose confidence and supply coalition where one party is supported in a confidence vote but barters vote by vote on legislation. But what has all this got to do with LGBT rights?

Well, the issue is that the DUP could well be a partner for the Conservatives in a future coalition arrangement, most likely in a more informal agreement. I personally believe it unlikely that they would hold cabinet positions but it’s possible that could hold ministerial positions in exchange for their support of the government. This could cause a whole raft of issues for the LGBT community, mainly stemming from the fact the DUP is somewhat of a philistine when it comes to progressive libertarian rights. Only today, police have begun investigating comments made by Northern Ireland Health Minister Jim Wells after he linked child abuse and gay relationships. I mean… seriously?! I don’t even want to start on why these comments repulse me but the worst part is that these principles aren’t exactly rare in a party which could influence our own government in the next 5 years.

We could be assured by the fact that Cameron has stated that he will “never validate the DUP’s stance on gay rights and LGBT issues” but the reality of the situation is that LGBT issues aren’t going to be a red line in coalition agreements. It’s just not going to be the case that Cameron would reject power on such a principle despite the fact he “profoundly disagreed” with the party’s policy on LGBT issues. It doesn’t change the fact that the DUP oppose gay marriage, are upholding a gay blood ban and currently are putting forward the conscience clause bill in some kind of archaic overhang which is most probably rooted in their deep religious and misguided beliefs.