The Hindu : Senior Tory leader admits he is gay

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 30, 2002

International

International

Senior Tory leader admits he is gay

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON JULY 29. A frontbench Tory MP today created ripples after he publicly declared that he was gay, but contrary to fears that he might be ostracised, the party leadership praised Alan Duncan for his "honest" admission.

Though a number of Tories are known to be gay, this is the first time that a front-ranking leader has openly acknowledged it. In the past, several senior Tories have had to resign their posts after their homosexuality became a subject of public discussion. The fact, however, that the party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, was quick to assure him that it would not affect his prospects was seen as an indication of the party's new "inclusive" approach to alternative life styles. "What you have done is honest and will not affect you in any way politically in the future," Mr. Duncan Smith wrote to him within hours of Mr. Duncan making the disclosure in an interview with The Times.

Mr. Duncan, who is the Tory spokesman on foreign affairs, taunted fellow Tories for their "keep-it-in-the-closet" approach and said: "The Tory view has always been, `We don't mind, but don't say.' Well that doesn't work any more. I think the only realistic way to behave these days, particularly if you are a politician, is to be absolutely honest and upfront, however inconvenient that may be at first."

Mr Duncan, 45, was the only party MP who voted consistently in last Parliament for lowering the age of consent for gay sex to 16. He said he had decided to speak out because the Tory Party was changing and besides "living in disguise for your whole life simply isn't an option." The Tories, he said, had come a long way from the days when anyone who was open about being gay "hit a glass ceiling, as has happened to me at some stages."

His frontbench colleague, John Bercow, said the disclosure reflected a changing mood within the Conservative Party. "It is not a surprise to me and it won't be a surprise to my colleagues. It is always difficult for a Conservative to come out and say `I'm gay'. Alan Duncan is the first Conservative Member of Parliament to do so," he told the BBC praising him for his "personal courage".

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