Green leader tells of MSPs' homophobic jokes

Published on Saturday 16 April 2011 16:23

THE leader of the Scottish Green Party revealed yesterday that he has been subject to homophobic jokes by other MSPs during his time at Holyrood.

Patrick Harvie, who is one of four openly gay, lesbian and bisexual members of the Scottish Parliament, said he has "occasionally" been the victim of bigoted barbs by a small number of the 129 members.

In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, the 38-year-old said he had not felt the jibes were malicious, but had they been racist, the MSPs involved could have been expelled from their parties. Harvie, who is bisexual, is thought to be the first MSP to speak of bigotry in the Scottish Parliament since its creation in 1999.

"I'm aware of homophobic comments being made about me by some politicians, albeit not to my face," he said in the interview.

"However, I think we've reached a point where people who hold ideas like that know they need to shut up and realise they won't make any friends by voicing those kinds of opinions."

When asked to expand on his experiences, Harvie said homophobic comments had been made in jokes, while homophobic sentiment had come across during debates.He said: "I would certainly say it's not something I've experienced from most (MSPs] and it's probably at the level of what might be regarded as banter, but when it comes to jokes about race, people know that's unacceptable."

Asked whether that was something he had experienced in Holyrood, Harvie, who steered an anti-hate crime bill through parliament, said: "Occasionally. It's certainly on balance a very supportive workplace, but any group of 129 people is going to include a range of views and values."

"The most important point is that it is a lot less hostile than a lot of workplaces and a lot less hostile than politics used to be. The main thing is that we have come a very long way.

"But there have been occasionally been debates about same sex couples adopting and it's not really possible to argue a 'no position' without expressing some kind of attitude, about what lesbian gay and bisexual people are like, and sometimes that's pretty difficult."

Harvie added: "I would say it's probably a fair reflection of all of Scotland. Things have come a long way.

"We're a lot closer to an inclusive and equal society, but we're not there yet, and there are still areas where you'll find a bit of ignorance or a bit of prejudice."