IDS and the pink vote

It comes as no surprise to learn that former Tory leader and born-again social justice crusader Iain Duncan Smith has a problem with LGBT people.

The Independent diary tells us today that a former staffer recalls ‘the pink vote’ was a delicate subject in the quiet man’s office:

“He used to get quite ratty. We once asked him to sign a letter supporting a Gay Pride event in Manchester. He lost his temper, screwed up the letter and threw it against his office wall. Another time we were discussing gay rights in a service station. He got so irate and thumped his fist against the table, catapulting a plate of food into someone’s lap. I don’t know why he got so touchy. Maybe it was due to his army days.”

This from a man who was telling us the other day, in the context of Conservative family policy:

“I don't think the gay stuff is anything to do with this because it's irrelevant,” and that same-sex couples do not "register on the Richter scale of how to bring up children."

So, if you thought the Tories they are a-changing, think again. They ain’t.

Duncan Smith visited Brixton recently – it was a no media event, though not, I suspect, by choice.