Racist Extremism #title image Published by Will Straw, April 20th 2010 at 3:39 pm

Cameron slams Grayling on B&B remarks

Chris Grayling today refused to say that he regretted his comments that “a Christian hotel owner have the right to exclude a gay couple from a hotel”. Speaking on BBC’s ‘The Debate Programme’, Grayling said only that he regretted “causing confusion”. He claimed he was “talking about debates from some years ago” despite previously saying he “always took the view” about B&B owners. But his leader, David Cameron, has said “he shouldn’t have said it” on a BBC show to be broadcast tomorrow evening.

Watch Grayling on The Debate Programme:

Speaking on ‘Dermot Meets‘, to be broadcast tomorrow evening on BBC3, David Cameron will say:

“Well what [Grayling] said was wrong and he shouldn’t have said it, but I mean the thing is he did actually vote the right way, in terms of the vote on the equality regulations, which was all about saying to business you cannot discriminate against people on the basis of their sexuality.

“I mean the truth is that, you know the Conservative Party now accepts wholeheartedly the equality agenda for people whether you’re black or white or straight or gay, man or woman, really important, that’s the bedrock of our manifesto.”

But new research from My Gay Vote shows the Conservative party’s Parliamentary voting record on gay rights trails the Liberal Democrats and Labour by a factor of four to one. On five key votes just 27 per cent of Conservative MPs supported extensions in gay rights. By contrast, almost all Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs voted for the legislation. Indeed, just 6 per cent of Conservative MPs voted to allow gay couples to adopt. Rate My Tory has more.

Meanwhile Conservative candidate, Julian Lewis, an MP for New Forest East since 1997, is reported to have made a number of homophobic remarks at a hustings event yesterday. Activist Andrew Tindall tweeted: “just spent an hour listening to the scaremongering of a corrupt, paranoid homophobe – Julian Lewis, New Forest East CON MP/PPC.” By email, Tindall told me:

“Questioned on his gay rights votes, he continued his claims that homosexuality/anal sex alone poses risk of HIV/AIDS, and that is why he still opposes gay sex at 16. Someone put it to him that it is no more dangerous than any sexual activity, to which he insisted on proof, but when asked to do the same – over 10 years after he already made up his mind – he said he didn’t have figures and it would have to be a project to find them.

“He then made a comparison that gay sex is as big a health risk as joining the army, and that they don’t let people join the army until the age of majority, so why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining the army isn’t.”

Comments
  1. Alex Burrows says:

    RT @leftfootfwd: Cameron slams Grayling on B&B remarks (but Grayling won't say he regrets making them) http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  2. leebo says:

    Cameron slams Grayling on B&B remarks(but Grayling doesnt regret it) http://bit.ly/cj6SpV /via @leftfootfwd <how long has it taken him tho?

  3. Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. Poor David Cameron http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  4. Lauren B says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. Poor David Cameron http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  5. Ben Cooper says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  6. KatieCurtis says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. Poor David Cameron http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  7. StopTheRight says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  8. made me laugh out loud: RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  9. paulwmk says:

    RT @leftfootfwd: Cameron slams Grayling on B&B remarks (but Grayling won't say he regrets making them) http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  10. Adam Croome says:

    Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV (via @LGBTLabour) #SameOldTories

  11. Liz McShane says:

    I wonder will Cameron reprimand Stewart Jackson, Shadow Communities & Local Government Minister for his recent comments re young Afghan men….:

    http://www.regen.net/bulletins/Regen-Daily-Bulletin/News/998077/Tory-renewal-spokesman-row-Afghan-Muslim-initiation-rites-comments/?DCMP=EMC-Regen

  12. Richard Lane says:

    #SameOldTories > RT @nextleft: Why shud gay sex b allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks Tory MP Julian Lewis http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  13. Tom Scott says:

    The nasty party. RT @nextleft
    Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, – Tory mp Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  14. Chris Wood says:

    RT @nextleft: Why shd gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory MP Julian Lewis. Poor Cameron http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  15. #Julian Lewis MP makes me sick! Same old homophobia, same old stupidity, same old tories. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  16. LGBT Labour says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  17. LGBT Labour says:

    #SameOldTories > RT @nextleft: Why shud gay sex b allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks Tory MP Julian Lewis http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  18. RT @LGBTLabour Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  19. LM says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  20. RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  21. LGBT Labour says:

    Cameron says Grayling shouldn't have made B&B remarks but won't sack him & Grayling won't say he regrets making them! http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  22. RT @LGBTLabour: Cameron says Grayling shouldn't have made B&B remarks but won't sack him & Grayling won't say he regrets making them! http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  23. Stephen Bond says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  24. Will Straw says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  25. deonwiggett says:

    RT @wdjstraw: RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  26. [...] Left Foot Forward cover the full story. [...]

  27. Mr. Sensible says:

    About time too!

    Well almost; didn’t really say a lot about it.

  28. Leepy Lee says:

    RT @bencooper86: RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  29. Dale Bassett says:

    RT @wdjstraw: RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  30. @theboygeorge Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  31. Charlville says:

    RT @wdjstraw: RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  32. Charlville says:

    @GayTory Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV > and????

  33. Charlville says:

    Hyprocrite alert Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  34. Jae Kay says:

    RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. Poor David Cameron http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  35. RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. Poor David Cameron http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  36. RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't, asks notorious Tory mp Julian Lewis. Poor David Cameron http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  37. David Whitehouse says:

    But 16 year olds CAN join the army. You’d expect a Tory MP to know that, wouldn’t you ? Which rather shoots his argument straight through the temples, before you even get onto his ignorance and rampant homophobia. See http://www.armyjobs.mod.uk/howdoijoin/canijoin/Pages/EntryRequirements.aspx

  38. sophwills says:

    RT @LGBTLabour: RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  39. Henry Pill says:

    @popebrentus UK tory Julian Lewis should test his "only gays get aids" theory through unprotected sex in Swaziland http://bit.ly/cj6SpV

  40. RT @bencooper86: RT @nextleft: Why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if joining army isn't? asks Tory MP Julian Lewis. http://bit.ly/cj6SpV #SameOldTories

  41. [...] Forward at any time in the last 24 hours then you’ll already know that David Cameron has finally got around to repudiating Chris Grayling’s recent B&B [...]

  42. [...] response to the first enquiry, from Left Foot Forward, I outlined the event as I recalled it bearing in mind I did not take notes, as I was not expecting [...]

  43. [...] from fighting on frontlines. He reiterated the remarks at a hustings event on Monday, prompting the story by this [...]

  44. [...] Lewis, Tory incumbent for New Forest East, last week made some remarks that many people were understandably pissed off by. With many calling for him to be sacked from the [...]

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