So, with the elections coming up, it's time to start thinking about who I want to vote for. And therein lies a problem. I'm embarassed by all the parties (that is a polite understatement of my true feelings) and live in an ultra-safe constituency. On the one hand, there is Labour who have produced a more and more authoratarian, Orwellian state and who appear to equate liberation with equality with quotas, who abuse parliament and hold the public in utter contempt. On the other are the Conservatives. David Cameron may be trying to portray them as the fluffy warm party of the great ignored, but I see this as being very much a thin veneer which is far to easily scratched away.

Now, my experience of tories as people (from uni) was that they were very rarely "actvely homophobic" - by which I mean, they weren't thinking that we should be stoned to death and our families held in shame by the whole of society* (although there are some stalwarts of this view). They believed strongly that equality laws were not needed. They saw society as one where people best suited for jobs would get them regardless of any other factors. They could not see the very real discrimination around us. They were happy with "keeping their private life private" and felt that private life and wider social interactions should never meet. They felt that things were alright for them so it must be alright everywhere. Myself - I'd love to see that world (except the idea that my private life should never interact with the wider world). I see equality laws as being a tool in the fight for liberation. I want to see a society where we look at these rules similarly to the laws about shooting Scotsmen in York after dark from the city walls - an anachronism, out of date and unneccesary, laughable.

I think Chris Greyling's remarks (now echoed by another Tory PCC) about Christian B&B owners and gay guests to be indicative of another view - whilst they may not be actively homophobic themselves - they don't see homophobia from others as a problem. Combined with the belief that a just society already exists this creates an inertia and even a socially (if not legislative) step backwards as homophobia becomes more and more acceptable and unchallenged.

Now, I'm far from impressed by Labour's record on equality and liberation - a focus on quotas (i.e. all women shortlists for PCCs), the separation of Civil Partnerships from Marriage, their puritanical attitude towards hetronormitivity and against sex work, their close association with Stonewall, their writing out of protection from harassment for LGB people. Some of these show exactly the same problem I earlier accused the tories of having - namely the belief that although they aren't homophobic they think it's alright in others - particularly when based in religion - the vast majority of homophobia. The exemptions from employment protection where the employer has a religious ethos is the biggest example of where Labour thinks it's OK for people to think we're the epitome of evil, but I am still also feeling insulted by the segration introduced in the Civil Partnerships Act and every time I hear Labour claim credit for abolishing S28 I feel ashamed - they may have tried (and failed) twice, but the final removal of S28 was due to a CROSS-PARTY BACK BENCH INITIATIVE which did not have government support.

The feeling I get from the Labour government is that what they do for equality is the absolute bare minimum they can get away with without being lynched by their party or Europe - and even that isn't guaranteed.

The Lib Dems... I'm still wary of the Lib Dems. They come across as not knowing who they are or what they stand for, but they do seem to be the most progressive on these issues. For example, @lfeatherstone was the one who asked why protection from harassment should be explicitly denied to LGB people (to which Stonewall said "we don't really want it" - MORONS!). Edit to Add: Also their attitude towards the porn director who is now one of their candidates which can be contrasted with...

...the last party standing in my constituency at the moment - UKIP. Err... well... not a lot to say here really.

(* Exaggerated for illustrative purposes)