Racist Extremism #title image Published by Shamik Das, May 4th 2010 at 2:58 pm

Hague defends Tory PPC who “tried to ‘cure’ gay people”

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague defended yet another homophobic Tory candidate today, Philippa Stroud – who founded a church that tried to “cure” homosexuals by driving out their “demons” through prayer. Stroud, the Conservative Party PPC for Sutton and Cheam, is head of the right-wing think tank The Centre for Social Justice, a group David Cameron addressed in a keynote speech on “Broken Britain” last Tuesday.

Hague, speaking on BBC Radio 5 this morning, also defended the Tories’ anti-gay far-Right allies in Europe, and said Stroud’s case was different from that of Philip Lardner, suspended from standing for the Conservatives in North Ayrshire and Arran, who had said homosexuality was “not normal”. To describe Stroud as homophobic, insisted Hague, would be “false” and “misleading”.

Listen to his interview:

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, criticised Stroud, telling today’s Guardian:

“It would be highly regrettable if someone who continued to hold these views held any significant office in government.”

This is just the latest in a series of anti-gay stories about Tory MPs, candidates and allies in recent months; these include the homophobic remarks of Chris Grayling and Julian LewisBoth men remain members of David Cameron’s front bench team.

Comments
  1. RT @sunny_hundal: BBC finally asks about PhillipaStroud; William Hague tries to pretend she did nothing wrong: http://bit.ly/9ocbEX (by @leftfootfwd)

  2. Max says:

    RT @lawandsexuality: Be afraid fellow queers. Be very afraid. RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX

  3. joey coco says:

    RT @sunny_hundal: BBC finally asks about PhillipaStroud; William Hague tries to pretend she did nothing wrong: http://bit.ly/9ocbEX (by @leftfootfwd)

  4. RT @davessidekick: My favourite Willie: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #phillippastroud #ukelection #manishsood

  5. joey coco says:

    RT @True_Belle: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people" | Left Foot Forward http://bit.ly/9ocbEX

  6. Jules Grigg says:

    RT @davessidekick: My favourite Willie: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #phillippastroud #ukelection #manishsood

  7. allerley says:

    RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX

  8. RT @davessidekick: My favourite Willie: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #phillippastroud #ukelection #manishsood

  9. StopTheRight says:

    RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people" http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #phillippastroud #ukelection #ge10

  10. kay says:

    RT @lawandsexuality: Be afraid fellow queers. Be very afraid. RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX

  11. http://bit.ly/cIOHE4 Ben Summerskill: “Regrettable if someone with these views held any significant office in government” #PhilippaStroud

  12. Chris Paul says:

    RT @sunny_hundal: BBC finally asks about PhillipaStroud; William Hague tries to pretend she did nothing wrong: http://bit.ly/9ocbEX (by @leftfootfwd)

  13. RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people" http://bit.ly/9ocbEX

  14. Lee Ferris says:

    RT @IssacGreaves: Be very afraid. RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #phillippastroud

  15. [...] some credit here, they did question William Hague about this whole Stroud affair as blogged by Left Foot Forward. See his response in the video below (courtesy of youtube [...]

  16. [...] William Hague Defending Evangelical Homophobia Posted: May 4th, 2010 | Author: admin | Filed under: Politics, gay rights, general election, human rights | Tags: BBC Radio 5, Conservative Party, gay, homophobia, homosexuality, Philippa Stroud, Tories, William Hague | No Comments » Well I guess his party needs all the votes it can get in the run-up to Thursday, but this is makes alarming listening: [...]

  17. Vicky Blake says:

    RT @davessidekick: My favourite Willie: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #phillippastroud #ukelection #manishsood

  18. LGBT Labour says:

    RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #SameOldTories

  19. SSP Campsie says:

    RT @LGBTLabour RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://short.to/2djdb #SameOldTories

  20. Vegan Panda says:

    RT @davessidekick: My favourite Willie: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #phillippastroud #ukelection #manishsood

  21. Adam Croome says:

    RT @LGBTLabour RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #SameOldTories

  22. RT @IssacGreaves: Be very afraid. RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #philli …

  23. RT @LGBTLabour: RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #SameOldTories

  24. Kris King says:

    RT @bma: Shadow Foreign Sec. defends homophobia in the Tory Party. http://ur1.ca/ythz #ge2010

  25. superbrutal says:

    RT @davessidekick: My favourite Willie: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #phillippastroud #ukelection #manishsood

  26. RT @adamcroome: RT @LGBTLabour RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #SameOldTories

  27. leftfootfwd Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #ge2010 #phillipastroud

  28. RT @LGBTLabour: RT @leftfootfwd: Hague defends Tory PPC who "tried to 'cure' gay people": http://bit.ly/9ocbEX #SameOldTories

  29. Yonmei says:

    sr #Tory #Hague defends #PhilippaStroud & her #homophobic views on Radio5 Live, 3pm 4thMay http://tiny.cc/i0xw9 #ukelection #nevertoryagain

  30. ebony says:

    Hague defends Philippa Stroud who "tried to 'cure' gay people" http://j.mp/c8DvWf

  31. John Shields says:

    Calm down everyone – listen to the what he’s saying. Hague doesn’t say anything bad himself here. And it damages the Labour or Lib Dem causes if you criticise unreasonably. Not helpful. Not helpful at all. Hague is a clever and talented politician, and like when the Tories attack respected politicians like Ashdown or Benn, they suffer. Labour and the Lib Dems will also suffer if they unreasonably level attacks at Hague. He’s obviously not a homophobe, and equally, the Tories have taken huge strides forward in their approach to the gay community – let’s not attack them for it!

  32. John Shields says:

    Labour especially have to be very very careful here – the attitudes of most traditional Labour voters in many constituencies are far more homophobic than anything you would hear from the Conservative backbenchers. If they’re not careful, there’ll be another ‘Duffy moment’, where the Westminster-bound political class shows itself to be detached – however positively – from the majority of the electorate.

  33. [...] all, 35 Tory candidates at the last election signed the pledge, including Philippa Stroud, PPC for Sutton & Cheam and the former head of the Centre for Social Justice – currently [...]

  34. Derek says:

    Tory antigay rants make this a story http://bit.ly/clEHQS "@dawnhfoster: Ditto RT @MsGoodhew This Hague crap is pissing me off."

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