Stonewall’s disgraceful attacks on the EHRC

Whatever happened to the brilliant gay rights movement led by people like Ian McKellen, Simon Fanshawe, Matthew Parris and Angela Mason? For people of my baby boomer generation, one of the miracles of the late 20th century was the speed at which public prejudices against lesbian and gay people evaporated.

Those prejudices haven’t disappeared; but it is now accepted as common sense that LGBTQ+ people should be treated equally. When I started work that kind of statement seemed like generations away. The advocacy of the original founders of Stonewall changed attitudes to such an extent that a Tory Prime Minister – David Cameron – could boast in a conference speech that he supported same-sex marriage, not in spite of being a Conservative but because he was a Conservative – and be received with an ovation from his elderly, right wing audience.

Today, that gay rights movement seems a shadow of itself, preoccupied by the intricacies of a language despotism that has emerged from the faculty lounges of minor North American universities.