UK Independence Party
LGBT issues
In 2012 UKIP declared its opposition to equal marriage.[1]
In November 2012 Winston McKenzie, the party's candidate for the Croydon North by-election, was severely criticised by the local party chairman Peter Staveley for making remarks viewed as homophobic.[2]
In February 2015, Tom Brooker, chair of the LGBT section of UKIP, stepped down as chair and resigned from the party, because of dissatisfaction with UKIP's policy and leadership.[3]
LGBT* in UKIP were banned from participating in the London Pride parade in June 2015, but joined the parade anyway with their t-shirts and banners.[4]
David Coburn, gay UKIP MEP and leader of UKIP in Scotland, has blamed the EU for his toaster not working.[5]
A gay man, Peter Whittle was selected as the UKIP candidate in the 2016 election for Mayor of London[6] He received 94,373 votes, 3.6% of votes cast. Whittle resigned from UKIP in 2018.
The party's electoral performance declined significantly following the UK referendum result of 2016. Their share of votes in the General Election went from 12.6% in 2015 to 1.8 % in 2017.
References
- ↑ http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/2625-pm-picking-fight-over-samesex-marriage PM picking fight over same-sex marriage retrieved 28 April 2012
- ↑ http://insidecroydon.com/2012/11/27/ukips-appalled-local-chairman-asks-croydon-to-forgive-his-party/
- ↑ http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/02/26/ukips-lgbt-chair-quits-i-couldnt-defend-the-party-any-more/
- ↑ http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/ukip-supporters-barge-into-london-in-pride-parade-despite-being-banned-by-organisers-10350214.html
- ↑ http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/02/25/gay-ukip-mep-blames-the-eu-for-his-broken-toaster/ Nick Duffy, "Gay UKIP MEP blames the EU for his broken toaster", Pink News, 25 February 2016.
- ↑ http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/09/26/ukip-picks-gay-candidate-peter-whittle-to-run-for-mayor-of-london/ Nick Duffy, "Whittle to run for Mayor of London", Pink News, 26 September 2015.
