Gay candidate's campaign OPEN AND POSITIVE

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The anti-gay savaging of Peter Tatchell in the Bermondsey by-election might well have intimidated gays from standing in elections lest they get the same treatment. The Bermondsey experience was bound to make Labour Parties cautious and to give a reasonable' disguise to anti-gay bigotry. The story of how an openly gay candidate won a local government seat Nottingham is therefore an important and an inspiring one.

Gay activist Richard McCance was selected as a Labour local election candidate in Nottingham for what seemed an unwinnable seat. The branch seemed to have no difficulty accepting his gayness until suddenly the seat began to look winnable.

Then an unsuccessful attempt was made to ditch gay rights.

Later Richard McCance's right to be 'open and positive' about his sexual orientation in his personal statement to the electorate was challenged. This is Richard McCance's story of Anti-gay bigotry helped sink Peter Tatchell. But Richard McCance's campaign showed that this bigotry can 'fighting in the Labour movement for lesbian Join LABOUR AGAINST THE WITCHHUNT To join or affiliate, write to Chris Richardson, 21 Membership open to Constituency Labour Devonshire Promenade, Lenton, Nottingham NG7 Parties, trade union organisations, Labour 2DS. £5 for individuals, or for affiliated organisations, per 1000 members. £2 for low-waged indivi- Fee: CLPs and unions £10, wards £5, individuals. f1 for unwaged. Add 50p if you want the duals and other organisations £3. Write toLAW, 11 Wilderton Road, London N16. his election campaign.

THE divisions and conflicts that arose from the campaign meeting of the branch took a few days to superficially heal; those on the Left who had sold out on gay rights faced the wrath of those who had held fast, knowing that by doing so we might lose both seats, but that it was important to start the campaign as we intended to continue it, and not begin by compromising.

However, I did agree to change 'lover' to 'partner' which had "connotations of Wimbledon and the Skaters Waltz. It was in this spirit of compromise that my agent, who had resigned, was persuaded by intermediaries to re-enlist.

Asian I was not sure that the word 'gay' would translate positively into Asian languages. There appeared to be no self-defined word, only very negative ones, so it was omitted from our Asian language leaflets. I had just heard of a case of an Asian youth caught stealing whose rather strict father wanted to chop off ais hand, but for the timely intervention of a more progressive Asian community leader. I ›ondered over what might lappen if I chanced upon their loorstep!

It was now time to take a leeting look at the contenders in his election line-up and a profile if the ward itself.

There were the two Tory ouncillors, who had surfaced in he ward, almost for the first ime in four years, to present heir calling cards, one Liberal andidate replete with orange eret, double-barrelled name nd country seat, who had ready worked the ward with murf-laden leaflets like there as no tomorrow.

When 'Suzie' as she liked to e called, wasn't posing kneeeep in shit and broken glass le could be seen ascending the uildhall steps, petition in ind, pointing heavenwards. special issue of Gay Socialist.

LNCI ichard Then there were the two Labour candidates, a young local Anglo-Arab community worker with an English name, and myself, a white middle-aged gay social worker who lived and worked outside the, ward.

Forest Fields bears the familiar signs of an area in transition - and it now seems in a hurry to smarten itself up. The area escaped the bulldozers in the early '70s and the rowerof small, neat terraced houses bear evidence of modernisation. There are also many large gabled houses, some still in multi-occupation, others more recentely colonized by professionals. Small shops abound, oringing the produce of tropical gardens to the street corner, presided over by names like Singh and Khan, now as familiar as Smith or Brown.

Press

Good old-fashioned para noia began to take hold of me, as I looked for further evidence = of impending treachery. And w rhen our personal statements » vere found to need - reprin ting because of typographical err Tors, I firmly believed that this wi as a plot to stop the stateme ents appearing at all!

I wondered what some of the other workers might be thi inking. For despite my track rec ord on a range of issues, I th link some peope still half expec ited me to cause an avarici ous news-hungry press to descr end Bermondsey-style on the warr Even if I wasn't about to :

run be fought successfully.

wild in a frock I just might rock the boat and issue a press release on the newly constituted Gay Giro Users Assocition/ Gay Liberation Front.

But the predicted collective doom just did not happen.

Neither the press nor the other politicai parties responded apar from a small article in the loca Tory rag which had me admitting that I was gay, but then went on to accurately quote from my personal statement on Equal Opportunities.

I was later able to identify the sudden unease of my run'admission, On the day of my who went into overdrive, rushing round canvassing at the double. No-one mentioned the press release, though it had clearly been known about by my agent.

Five days before the election the new statements were ready for distribution.

Canvass

We were now into our third canvass and some returns were, indicating that whilst the Labour promises were generally holding firm, some split or single voting would occur. Some people now made it clear on the doorstep that they would not vote for a. homosexual, no way.

There was the African family whose vote we lost, and the irate letter which began: "Dear Mr. Gay ..: we can do without your kind... go back to where you came from, London no doubt •..and take the blacks, pimps and muggers with you ::. to think you boast about being a youth leader and school gover• enough is enough mate!" (The other candidate was the youth leader and school governor.)

Elsewhere a student social worker said she could not bring herself to vote for the gay candidate as she was a Christian and it was against God's will. When I introduced myself as suffering from that unfortunate affliction she giggled nervously and blushed as she closed the door rapidly.

Another Labour candidate enthusiastically relayed back to me that the local Leftie-patronised pub owner had openly declared that she would not vote for a homosexual.

The evening before polling day the agent and the other candidate tried some subtle pressure on me to reduce my gay profile.

Sacrifice

The argument went like this.

My agent would sacrifice wearing his CND badge - after all it was important not to discourage voters and to win. Then we would have four years to put our policies into action. Therefore it would be logical not to wear any badges, although my pink triangle would be alright (I wonder why?).

When they realised this would not work they dropped it.

An eve of poll final fling by the Liberals galvanised us into action and at 6 am on a cola, wet election day twenty supporters drenched the ward with leaflets which showed Tories and Liberals shaking hands.

During the day I had several good-luck calls including one from one of the members who said that whatever the result I had maintained my integrity and he was proud to have been associated with the campaign.

Towards the close of poll a young man whom I had thought to be gay, arrived at the committee rooms in a panic because he wanted to vote but couldn't find the polling station. It was clear there was an urgency for him to record his vote.

At the count the voting pattern clearly showed that whatever prejudices existed, 85% of the Labour votes were cast for the slate of two. Both the other candidate and myself got a significant number of split and single votes, My split. votes were predominantly Tory/ Labour and his Liberal/Labour.

More importantly, there was only a difference of two votes between the other . Labour candidate and myself. (One of the Tory candidates, incredulous at his defeat [at the hands of a pervert?] dissolved into tears).

Reactions to my win were varied and ranged from euphoria to incredulity. One friend broke down and cried when she heard the result - another phoned me twice, he couldn't believe it. A phone call from a lesbian mum forecast a gay takeover of City Hall!

The campaign was remarkable for its lack of visible homophobia - individual prejudices which may have been strong were not united by any orchestrated anti-gay campaign, as in From the start my supporters and I set the terms of the campaign whịch helped determine its outcome. Too often we are put on the defensive when we should have the right to raise gay rights on our own terms as and when we choose.

John Shiers, writing in Gay News, said: 'We should not have to deny our gayness in order to be taken seriously as Socialists' . And that is basically what it is all about.

The straight candidates would offer what they considered to be their passport to acceptability -'2:4 children, happily married, Rotarian' • I was seeking the same opportunity to say that I was different and perhaps to rouse some otherwise apathetic people to vote for me.

What was clear was that gay rights was not a vote loser _ our seats were the only two Labour gains in Nottingham with a 13% swing from the Tories. However, gay rights was by no means the only determinant in motivating people to split or switch votes.

As a candidate I was 'out" as gay from the start, rather than 'found out' , and so any media coverage would have had to begin on my terms. That was in contrast to Peter Tatchell's decision not to come out, which gave most press releases and features the appearance of near exposes or confessionals.

- However, he was standing for Parliament in a by-election with a news-hungry media plotting his downfall, with active connivance from the right wing of the Labour Party. I was but one of fifty-seven candidates in local election, and not jet generally perceived as a threat to the moral order of Forest Fields.

At the selection meeting for the June elections the agent for the constituency, who predicted doom for the ward if I came out, publicly stated that he had been proved wrong by the election result and went on to suggest that not only should we perhaps consider an ethnic women's leaflet but we might think about a gay leaflet as well.

When pressed to authorise £5 from his campaign funds to pay for the LCGR election leaflet he declined, but offered us yet another meeting! (He had previously met with Nottingham gays because LCGR posed a threat and he was despatched by the leader of the Labour Group of Nottingham Council to meet and mollify us).

Withdraw

We reacttu by withdrawing our canvassers who were gay and went to work for Ken Coates in Nottingham South who was prepared to back LCGR's initiative.

At our first branch meeting after the local and general elections a motion was carried unanimously which said that in any future campaign the Branch reserved the right to stand a member of an under-represented group if it chose to do so. But when discussion was invited no-one spoke. The story continues.

From the start we travelled an uncertain road. Although painful at times, there are no villains in this tale except our own fears and what they can do to us.

From issue ao. 8 of Gay Socialist, journal of the Labour Campaign for Gay Rights.

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Socialist Organiser no. 147 September 22 1983 Page 11 SPOTEGED

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Campaign JOHN HARRIS RRIS

AGAINST THE Party affiliates, and individuals.