When it comes to LGBT+ rights, are politicians all the same?

Hot on the heels of pushing the Monster Raving Loony party into fifth place in the Brecon and Radnorshire by election, the Labour Party expresses concern that “the people running our country have a deeply worrying record on LGBT+ rights”. Given that the new prime minister Alexander Boris De Pfeffel Johnson has referred to gay men as “tank-topped bum boys”, attacked “Labour’s appalling agenda, encouraging the teaching of homosexuality in schools,” described as gay weddings to “three men and a dog” and describing a gay man as “that shirt-lifter”, Labour certainly has a point. You might also be forgiven for thinking that Labour would be on the moral high ground. Not so.

As usual, it all comes down to Labour’s accidental leader, Jeremy Corbyn who is the unluckiest person in the world. Despite his pacifist views, the poor man is always being photographed with terrorists and people with a long history of urging or participating in violence. It just isn’t fair. At least, when it comes to matters of LGBT, the old boy will surely be ‘on message’. I’m afraid we’ll need to take a rain-check on that one. Here are some examples:

• Corbyn was paid £20,000 by the mad Mullahs of Iran to appear on state TV. It did not seem to bother Magic Grandpa that this is a country which throws gay people off tall buildings and cranes.
• He described the theocratic mobsters of Hamas, who murder gays, as “a force for social justice”.
• He called Cuba’s communist in chief, who persecuted gays, “a champion of social justice”.
• He referred to people who “chose to be gay”, as if sexuality was defined as a matter of choice.

Corbyn is not only very unlucky, he’s incredible clumsy with his use of words. Sorry, but for a man aspiring to be prime minister (stop laughing a the back – and the front for that matter), this stuff really matters.

We keep hearing that Corbyn is this saintly figure who only stands for everything that is good in the world. He can say and do no wrong. However, this is an illusion.

Doubtless, Corbyn would be appalled to be described as a homophobe, just as he is apparently appalled to be described as an anti-Semite. I would like to think that, despite his appalling associations with Jew-hating terrorists, he is not an anti-Semite and that perceptions that he is are more down to his incompetence and general unsuitability to be a party leader, never mind a potential PM.

What you do matters more than what you say. Proclaiming you are pro peace, but aligning themselves with murderers is not smart politics. Claiming you are pro LGBT+ is all very well until you align yourself with people who want to kill gay people.

Labour is right to point out Boris Johnson’s dubious history with LGBT issues but wouldn’t it be nice if they could put their own house in order first?