David Cameron: Pinkwashing

David Cameron’s legacy as he leaves 10 Downing Street after six years at the pinnacle of government is now officially up for debate. To his allies, Cameron has been the bedrock of economic recovery, many of them repeatedly citing economic growth and increased employment as his greatest bequests to the nation. But what of the man himself? While bidding farewell to his parliamentary colleagues at Prime Minister’s Questions earlier today, Cameron referred to the introduction of marriage equality as one of his proudest achievements since 2010.

Let’s be clear: the legal right to marry your same-sex partner should be celebrated. However, to suggest that it positions Cameron as chief champion of LGBT equality is no more realistic than the assertion that ‘marriage equality’ means that the battle for LGBT equality is won.

Austerity, the economic model underpinning Cameron’s tenure, has had a devastating impact on LGBT services. A TUC-funded research report by London Metropolitan University in 2014 found that the LGBT Voluntary and Community Sector is struggling to cope under the pressure of extensive public spending cuts. The tangible impact of this has been massive reductions in budgets, staffing and, consequently, services offered. This comes at a time when demand for support among key groups, not least bisexual, trans, BME and disabled LGBT people continues to rise exponentially...

Independent Voices.

Lost count of how many times Dave and Theresa namedropped equal marriage yesterday.