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WSWS : News & Analysis : Europe : Britain
Anti-gay hysteria greets Blair's proposal to repeal Section 28
By Steve James and Julie Hyland
27 January 2000
Back to screen version
The Labour government's proposal to repeal the anti-gay "Section 28" of the
Local Government Act has triggered a noisy, homophobic campaign by the
Conservative Party and Christian right.
The Thatcher government introduced Section 28 in the 1980s. It was aimed at
whipping up an atmosphere of right-wing moralism, as part of an offensive
against "left-wing" local authorities and progressive educators. Under the
clause, local authorities are forbidden to "intentionally promote homosexuality
or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" and "promote
the teaching in any maintained [state] school of the acceptability of
homosexuality as a pretended family relationship."
In the intervening years, while no local authority has been prosecuted, the
clause has been used to prevent councils giving assistance to gay and lesbian
groups. In 1999, for example, Cardiff County Council withdrew funding from a
lesbian and gay Mardi Gras on the grounds of Section 28. Schools are also not
meant to discuss homosexuality as anything other than a deviation from the
norm. Teachers and gay groups say that this has prevented some adolescents
getting the support they need and has contributed to an increase in homophobic
bullying in schools.
Gay and civil rights groups have vigorously opposed Section 28. Opinion polls
show a significant liberalising in general attitudes towards homosexuality and
other sexual matters over the last period. The clause was so broadly seen as
undemocratic that Labour believed its repeal would not arouse substantial
opposition. Instead, with votes on the issue looming in Westminster, the
Scottish parliament and the House of Lords, the "Keep the Clause" campaign has
become ever more strident and vicious.
The pro-Section 28 campaign has been most vigorous in Scotland, where it is led
by a coalition comprising Brian Souter, one of Scotland's richest men; Cardinal
Thomas Winning, the archbishop of Glasgow; and Martin Clarke, editor of
Scotland's biggest selling tabloid, the Daily Record.
Following Labour's announcement last October that they were to proceed with the
repeal, the Record ran a headline thundering that it would lead to "Gay Sex
Lessons in School". Cardinal Winning, who had earlier stated that homosexuals
were unsuited for certain jobs, also made a speech in which he denounced
homosexuality as a "perversion".
The entry of transport billionaire Souter into the campaign has encouraged the
Christian right and tabloid press to up the stakes dramatically. Souter is the
chief executive of Stagecoach, the Scottish-based bus, rail and air company. He
amassed his empire, and a sizeable personal fortune, through the Tory
government's privatisation of public transport and attacks on working
conditions. One of the main financial backers for the Scottish National Party
(SNP), he is a member of the evangelist Church of the Nazarene, one of a
network of right-wing Christian groups organising opposition to the repeal.
Through his charity, the Souter Foundation, the multimillionaire offered
£500,000 to the Scottish School Boards Association (SSBA) and the "Keep the
Clause" campaign, both of which oppose repeal. Members of the SSBA are said to
be furious that the organisation has been allied to a campaign many do not
support.
Souter also recruited the aid of ex-tabloid editor Jack Irvine, head of the
public relations company Media House, for the campaign. Irvine, a notorious
homophobe, also writes a column for the Sunday Mirror. Media House has said
they will take out radio, TV and billboard adverts, targeting gay advice groups
that receive public funding.
The tabloid press began a campaign of phone- and write-ins directed against
Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) supporting repeal, designed to show
mass support for "Keep the Clause". They were joined by the Scotsman newspaper,
which in an editorial entitled "Souter's concerns need to be heard" praised his
"enlightened stewardship of Stagecoach" and warned of "a tide of explicit
material washing over our schools".
The Church has circulated a document to be issued in all Catholic schools in
Scotland stating that "Homosexual acts are contrary to the natural law". One-
third of Scottish school children attend Catholic schools. During a speech to a
Catholic family association in Malta at the weekend, Cardinal Winning equated
the threat to "Christian traditions" posed by an "active and militant
homosexual lobby", with that faced by the island from the Nazis in World War
Two.
The Scottish campaign has attracted support from sections of the political and
religious establishment across Britain. The Conservative Party under William
Hague said his party was opposed to repeal, as it would mean, "using taxpayers
money to promote homosexuality in our schools". In England, the Anglican Bishop
of Liverpool and the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, have also spoken
in favour of Section 28's retention. Conservative peer Baroness Young warned
that the party will attempt to force a vote against Section 28's repeal in the
House of Lords within the next two weeks.
Most significant, however, has been Labour and the SNP's reaction to this right-
wing backlash. It underscores how all the major parties in Britain compete for
political and financial backing from amongst the same narrow elite, and the
serious implications this has for democratic rights.
Financially beholden to Souter, the SNP has also sought to curry favour with
the Catholic Church in Scotland as a means of raising its political profile.
Cardinal Winning is rumoured to have threatened to break the Church's
relationship with the Labour Party over the latter's stance on abortion and
homosexuality, in favour of the SNP.
The SNP has sought to portray the issue as a storm in a teacup. Scottish
National Party MSP Michael Matheson said that "both sides in this debate are
closer together than might be thought". He insisted that new guidelines on what
could be taught in schools should be issued, prior to Section 28's repeal. SNP
leader Alex Salmond reiterated this, stating that "parents' concerns" should be
addressed prior to any changes.
The Labour Party, which has also been courting Souter and recently invited him
to join a committee overseeing government policy, is similarly kow-towing to
the right. Labour's First Minister in Scotland, Donald Dewar, has also
announced that the vote in the Scottish Parliament would be "conscience" vote,
with no party whip imposed. Dewar, who has refused a challenge from Souter to
debate the issue on TV, has forbidden Labour MSPs from commenting to the press
on the issue. Labour's Scottish Executive has also suggested implementing
disciplinary measures against teachers that "promote" homosexuality.
It is not the first time that Labour has backtracked on its commitment to
sexual equality. Last year the government inserted a clause aimed at equalising
the age of consent for gay sex with that of heterosexuals into its draconian
Crime and Disorder Bill. They had hoped an alliance between the Church and
Conservative Party would drop its opposition to the amendment in the interests
of "law and order". Instead, the right threatened to derail the entire bill
unless the offending amendment was removed. Labour duly obliged.
Similarly, when the European Court of Human Rights ruled in September last year
that Britain's ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces was unlawful,
Labour would only say that it was “studying” the recommendations.
Blair has notably refused to condemn the anti-gay hysteria. In a statement
earlier this week he appealed for "people to be calm and conduct this debate in
a calm and rational manner", and announced that the upcoming parliamentary vote
would be made a matter of "conscience", i.e., Labour would not enforce a party
whip.
His decision followed a statement by Labour MP and church estates commissioner
Stuart Bell that he and other Labour MP's would vote against repeal. In the
tabloid Sun newspaper on Wednesday, Bell said, "A flood of material has been
prepared to inundate our schools and influence children as young as five".
Threatening a rebellion by backbench Labour MP's, Bell continued that repeal
was "just the start of a gay revolution".
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