Tory homophiles
1From Mr Alistair B. Cooke, OBE Sir: Clause 28 of the 1988 Local Govern- ment Act hardly deserves the gay venom which Ivan Massow reports with absolute accuracy ('Why I, a homosexual, want to be a Tory MP', 10 July). It formed a small part of the battle between the Tory government and its favourite enemies, the so-called loony left councils. It forbade them to pro- mote homosexuality, imposing a specific ban on the teaching of 'the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family rela- tionship' in school. Teachers, however, had Only to mention Aids in order to secure a complete exemption since the infamous clause went on to allow anyone to do 'any- thing for the purpose of treating or pre- venting the spread of disease'.
Not a single case has been brought to court under the Act. Since this unimportant measure (which was never advocated in any party policy document) seems to stand between the Tories and the gay vote, Mr Hague should do what Tory pragmatism so clearly indicates and undertake to repeal the hated clause.
Mr Massow would have gained a very dif- ferent insight into Tory attitudes if he had visited the party's research department in the 1980s where people of his age group predominated. There he would have found an open and amiable appreciation of sexual diversity which should now become a hall- mark of the Tory party as a whole — as one former member of the department, the het- erosexual Edward Vaizey, has plainly recognised by associating himself promi- nently with Mr Massow's campaign to become the Tory candidate for Mayor of London.
Alistair B. Cooke
68 St George's Square, London SW1
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