That Reform UK is the most popular party among gay and bisexual men will come as no surprise to those of us with ecclesiastical backgrounds. If anything, the wonder is that it is not Restore Britain, and even then only for want of anything even further to the right.
But what of the rest of the Reform electorate? Since the dawn of time, those people have at least pretended not to notice that preponderance in everything from the Conservative Party and the right-wing media, via the public schools and the grander groves of academia, to the Royal Households and the clergy. But that is no longer the etiquette. They never asked what it was about their old party that made it so attractive to men of that inclination. Will they ask about their new one?
Similarly, Reform and Labour are tied for the top spot among public sector trade unionists, who are a pretty middle-class lot and hitherto the core supporters of Tony Blair and Keir Starmer. Labour needs to reckon with their obvious disappointment, but not half as much as Reform needs to ask itself about the attractiveness of becoming their voice and vehicle. Even the broadest church needs walls.
No comments:
Post a Comment