Some right-leaning LGBTQIA groups remain confident of the Conservative party’s deal with the DUP, but many have rightfully raised concerns about the latter’s appalling anti-gay history. This and the Conservative's unclear approach of tackling issues faced as a whole by the queer community should also be part of our concern.
A little background for those new to UK politics, Theresa May’s recent call for a general election failed to achieve the majority members of parliament (MPs) she needed to remain in power, thereby leading the Conservative party to make a deal with the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party). The Conservative party came under fire for this deal for many reasons, one of which concerning the LGBTQIA community.
The DUP is deeply socially conservative, rejecting same-sex marriage and abortion while constantly ensuring the former isn’t passed into law. Arlene Foster, the party’s current leader claims anti-gay characterisations are falsely applied to the party, despite it possessing a good share of members spouting homophobic rhetoric.
Despite a lot of backlashes, some LGBTQIA activists in Northern Ireland are actually more hopeful, with Rainbow Project director, John O’Doherty, claiming that the DUP deal might actually promote equal marriage in Northern Ireland if the Conservative party has itself redefined its stance on it. Gay DUP voter, Brian Campbell, also explained in an article for Attitude that many LGBTQIA persons in Northern Ireland vote for the party because of ‘cultural allegiance’, and, similar to O’Doherty, believe change may be possible.
Campbell and O’Doherty could be right, and this is perhaps one of the reasons why a surprising amount of LGBTQIA persons have decided to vote for centre-right and right wing parties with the belief that their homophobic or transphobic stances have since faded. The Conservative party has indeed shifted its views on LGBTQIA issues, and so the fact that people are hopeful makes sense.
But I think queer folks, right-leaning queer folks included, must remain sceptical.
Let’s bear in mind that both the Conservative party’s and the DUP’s manifestos have little to no details on specific issues LGBTQIA persons face. Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green party have taken into consideration issues like poor mental health services, hate crimes and school bullying, inclusive sex education, and much-needed access to PrEP (an HIV-prevention drug previously unavailable on the NHS) while the Tory party hasn’t.
Let’s also take into consideration that Conservatives want to allow faith schools to teach sex and relationship education in schools that align with their beliefs, meaning educational facilities can still insist that gay marriage is wrong.
Having briefly lived in the US under Donald Trump, I’m not confident when I hear right-leaning politicians and parties claiming to support queer persons. I saw Trump's supposed support for the LGBTQIA community crumble when he not only removed protections for Transgender students earlier this year but when I recently viewed his recent administration’s “murky” guidelines for protecting trans students.
O’Doherty knows far more about the situation in Northern Ireland for LGBTQIA persons than I do, and perhaps his confidence in the right-wing DUP is entirely valid. But if the unity between the Conservatives and the DUP still results in decisions that undermine the esteem of queer persons of faith, and there fails to be recognition of the distinct issues LGBTQIA persons face then I have trouble following O’Doherty’s confidence.
Consideration of the queer community’s often underrepresented and discriminated identities, and how they may feel supporting parties with sexist, homophobic and xenophobic views must also be considered. Gay men in the UK still face many issues atop social stigma, and this cannot be downplayed, but my community needs to remember issues arise not just for us white, gay men; a concerning amount of which totally fine about voting for renown anti-queer, right-wing parties and figures like Marine Le Pen because they personally don’t feel targeted.
Many trans and/or queer people of colour don’t have the privilege white gays do when it comes to feeling accepted. Transgender people in the US, for example, face a disproportionate amount of violence, and those expressing non-cis gender identities often experience transphobic attitudes in LGBTQIA circles as well as minimal representation. Just last year transphobic hate crimes in the United Kingdom had a 170% rise, and this was topped with awful prosecution rates that detrimentally affected trans people’s trust in police protection.
It’s excellent that some British queer folk feel accepted by those previously seeing them as abhorrent and because of this feel confident voting for parties like the DUP and the Conservatives.
However, these same people must take a look at who isn't being made to feel comfortable, and ensure these concerns are taken into consideration when many of us in the community understandably feel attacked by the anti-equality values the DUP hold, along with an unclear agenda for tackling issues LGBTQIA persons face.
But if you're a queer person in a political group that doesn't hold its party accountable for siding with anti-LGBTQIA parties like we're waiting for the LGBT+ Conservatives to do, it's probably time you join a group -- and, better yet, a party -- that actually cares about your rights.