LONDON'S busiest streets were brought to a standstill yesterday as the annual Pride march dazzled onlookers with a flamboyant display.
Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, wore black, brightened up with colourful necklaces, to join the parade organised by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups.
Brown was among the first group of marchers who were cheered as they walke
d along Oxford Street, followed by drag queens in huge blonde wigs and Union Flag outfits.
The march, led by Scottish comic Rhona Cameron, one of the festival's patrons, was preceded by a row between the Conservatives and Labour over gay issues. Labour was accused of "poisonous mudslinging" by shadow Commons leader Alan Duncan who claimed two senior ministers, both openly gay like him, were engaged in a coordinated attempt to stir up hatred and reopen old divisions.
He was responding to remarks by Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw at a public debate that there remained a "deep strain of homophobia" running through the Conservative Party. Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant was reported to have told the same meeting on Friday: "If gays vote Tory they will rue the day very soon."
Yesterday, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg levelled criticism at both main parties and warned gay rights were "vulnerable" to recession-fuelled extremism.
"The reforming zeal of the Labour Government is running out of energy and conviction after 12 years in power," he said in an article for the LabourList website.
"Gay rights, like all minority rights, should by now have become unquestionable. But in practice they are still treated like privileges, falling in and out of favour with politicians.
"David Cameron's recent apology over Section 28 is a prime example. Leadership is about speaking out on issues when they matter, not simply when you judge public opinion has moved."
He went on: "Any equivocation towards gay rights is dangerous. Especially now. Anger at the recession and towards mainstream politicians following the scandal over MPs' expenses has created huge opportunities for extremists.
"At the Euro elections last month almost a million people turned out for the BNP. And while the Conservatives try to appear gay-friendly in the UK, they have just formed a new allegiance in the European Parliament with extremists from across the EU. They now stand shoulder to shoulder with bigots who have banned gay marches and declared homosexuality a pathology."
Clegg concluded:
"There has been much progress in recent years, and much to celebrate. But as long as homophobia still rears its ugly head in workplaces, in classrooms, and even in the home, politicians must continue to speak out in favour of the values of gay rights."
At the march, Pride founder and prominent gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said he planned to ask Sarah Brown to speak to her husband about allowing same-sex couples to marry in the same way as heterosexual partners.
