Britain would accept an openly gay Prime Minister, says Blair
Britain could one day have an openly gay Prime Minister, Tony Blair has suggested in an interview for the gay magazine Attitude.
Mr Blair was interviewed for the magazine by Independent columnist Johann Hari, who also interviewed Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat chief Charles Kennedy.
Asked if he could foresee an openly gay Prime Minister, Mr Blair told the magazine: “Yes. Personally, I don’t think people would reject a Prime Minister simply on the basis that he was gay. But there is more likely to be prejudice on the right than the left.”
In extracts from the interview printed in Saturday’s Independent, the Prime Minister added that there were once several openly gay ministers within his Cabinet.
“We don’t at the moment but for no particular reason; we have plenty of gay ministers just below Cabinet level,” Mr Blair said.
In the interview, which will be published in full next week, Mr Blair also urges the Church of England to resolve its differences over homosexual bishops. The Prime Minister said that many people shared his view that the fundamental Christian principle was one of equality.
Meanwhile, Conservative leader Michael Howard told Attitude that he was wrong to introduce Section 28, the controversial law that banned councils from promoting homosexuality.
“I’ve changed my mind on that. I was wrong.” Mr Howard told the magazine on his decision to introduce the law when serving as an environment minister in Mrs Thatcher’s government.
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy claimed that many gay people were switching to his party because of their disenchantment about the “unfinished agenda” on gay rights.
The latest attempt by the main parties to woo the gay community follows their efforts to appeal to female voters in previous interviews with the women’s magazine Cosmopolitan.
