Letters: In defence of Steve Baker (by Steve Baker)

It’s not cynicism

Sir: I was amazed to have suffered the projection of so much cynicism in return for my plea that no one should suffer hate for their identity (‘The cynicism of Steve Baker’, Toby Young, 21 January). 

The simple truth is that one of my staff is out as a trans man. Another is a proud gay man with a non-binary partner. I like and admire them, and I have heard what they put up with. I am glad to be their ally. My staff still suffer abuse because of their sexual and gender identities, and I wish for them to live their lives without that abuse. This ought not to be controversial. 

My team and I have genuinely been shocked that a benign tweet about supporting the LGBT+ community could spark such an aggressive backlash. Ultimately, my tweet and the reactions to it are about tolerance. As a straight, happily married man, I have never had to wrestle with issues of sexual or gender identity. As far as I know, neither has Toby. But just because we have never shared people’s experiences does not mean that we cannot listen to their concerns. Indeed, the only way that we can avoid the extremes of the social justice movements is to come together as a society and discuss our complicated problems. 

Some argue that I did not do so on same-sex marriage, but I would reply that is exactly what I did. I voted against not because I want to force social conservatism on to others, but because my strong view has long been that marriage law needs serious reform. To all those who have accused me of giving up my ideology in pursuit of my own career, please take stock. A desire for minorities to live their lives free from attacks can just be that.