Ukip: Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Farage?

Homosexuality makes most people over 70 feel uncomfortable, according to Nigel Farage. The Ukip leader was attempting to defend Roger Helmer, his candidate in next month's Newark byelection, who had claimed that some older people found homosexuality "distasteful if not viscerally repugnant". (Others would say that this was a better description of Ukip itself.) Farage clearly feels not only the need to protect the rights of prejudiced people of every stripe but also entitled to speak on behalf of most older people. In fact he was simply enacting the latest variant of how many people can you fit into a Mini: how many stereotypes can you fit into Ukip?

As it happens, Farage is wrong about acceptance of homosexuality diminishing with age. A recent Pew Research Centre study found that, in the UK, 79% of 18- to 29-year-olds thought that homosexuality should be accepted, as did 82% of 30- to 49-year-olds and 71% of those in the 50-plus group. Unless the older figure conceals a sudden lurch towards disapproval on our 70th birthdays, acceptance in Britain remains relatively constant across the age bands. In other words, age doesn't seem to be a significant factor in shaping attitudes to homosexuality... *

George Montague, 90, at Brighton Pride.

I've just come from talking to a group of older women – g.o.d. (Growing Old Disgracefully), founded in 1993. I asked them for their reaction to Farage's comments. They were unanimous: don't characterise people on the basis of age. As one of them put it: "It's about closed minds. But minds don't necessarily close with age." Another balked at the idea that you should excuse prejudice on the grounds of age, suggesting that people should be prepared to take responsibility for their views at any age. A third felt patronised by Farage's comments, as though most old people were halfway to Alzheimer's – not that this would inevitably make them prejudiced.

One other fact doesn't seem to have occurred to Farage: that many over-70s are themselves gay...

The Guardian: 

Fagburn hasn't done any real research, but I bet you'd find homophobia makes more people over 70 uncomfortable.

* I know endless surveys have shown support for gay marriage shows a marked decline according to age, but that's not quite the same, so don't write in.

Update: The Britain of our youth was intolerant, now we find Farage intolerable Harry Leslie Smith, Guardian Cif.

But see comments for some of those pesky facts!