The UK: My thoughts are with David Laws

One revelation and a story

I have just read with sadness the resignation of David Laws the coalition Secretary to the Treasury on the matter of claiming expenses for accommodation on the premises of his partner.

The unfortunate consequence is that Mr. Laws has inadvertently been outed as gay in a long-term relationship with the man purported to have been his landlord.

There are many angles of looking at this story but the one that most draws my sympathy is that Mr. Laws who is just a month older than I am had settled into the convenience of being in the closet as a single man in public office without any of his close relations knowing of this secret affair – however, it is all now exposed and ones thoughts are prayers are with all concerned.

An ambiguous rule of life

Obviously the commons rules about claiming accommodation expenses require that claimants do not do so when with partners, relations or business associates.

Technically, if Mr. Laws had not declared his residence in plush Kensington to the West of London people might have said there are a quid pro quo scenario developing leaving a Member of Parliament open to influence, his claiming expenses however has lead to this rather human tragedy of sorts from which I do hope he does recover well.

The nation has lost a smart and possibly very able minister to scandals and the plural is deliberate – the scandal that prevents people from being confident of acceptance as gay if they should so choose to declare that fact, the scandal of claiming expenses whilst living with one’s partner even though there is no legal or common law basic for same-sex relationships in the UK except where a civil partnership has been entered into and the scandal of newspapers that have no compunction in exposing anything that would help sell their copy.

The Daily Telegraph has averred that it had no intention of outing Mr. Laws but there is no way that story would have made any news without that consequence as part of its sensational import and interest.

Politicians are not saints

I do not believe that our politicians should be subject to the kinds of moral standards we should expect of the clergy, they are not saints, they are people like you and I who have offered to serve our country in whatever capacity they have been elected and selected to serve.

This would obviously not encourage capable and competent but seemingly flawed people to enter politics for the fear of being mauled by the rabid dogs of the press pretending to be cuddly kittens.

It reminds me of the resignation of Lord John Browne from the chairmanship of BP when in trying to conceal the matter of his sexuality he perjured himself and was vilified for perjury despite the more personal issue at stake.

Acceptance is not a given, even in the West

There is no doubt that even though the middle-classes in the general sense might have the liberality of accepting and tolerating homosexuality, those with influence and in authority, politics or even international sports are not that at ease with revealing who they truly are – it leaves them prone to blackmail and possibly ignominy – the saddest case of those consequences of declaring ones sexuality can only have one looking at how that revelation lead to Justin Fashanu’s suicide in an abandoned garage in East London.

The fear of rejection looms large, more so the threat of homophobia which has not been eradicated even from Western societies and the misfortune that might accompany being disowned by loved and trusted ones – it is not an easy life and our humanity is the poorer for how difference stops people from being the best they could ever be by first being truly themselves.

Sources

BBC News - Treasury Minister David Laws resigns over expenses

Other references

Lies - Between human frailty and the law [akin.blog-city.com]

Obituary: Justin Fashanu - Obituaries, News - The Independent

Slamming the closet doors

Quite contrary

Oh! One does feel peculiar; Do you mean queer, dear?

Not at all, it wasn't a gay day, it rained cats and dogs.

That's a bit trite; one would say, quite a day to feel so ordinary.

It's a bit early

So, as I leafed through The Telegraph on Thursday morning after the fallout from Lord Browne's brush with the furious hell of a lover spurned; I guffawed as I read the second-hand tale of an interesting conversation.

Gyles Brandreth wrote in his diary in the Spectator; the following.

The telephone rang at 7.45 a.m. It was a journalist I know. She sounded tense. 'Gyles,' she said, 'do you want to come out?' 'It's a bit early, isn't it, darling?' I replied. 'I mean, "come out",' she said with emphasis, adding, with a little laugh, 'Everyone knows you're gay.' 'Do they?' I asked. 'Am I?' 'Oh, come on,' she persisted, 'Frankie Howerd made a pass at you once, didn't he?' 'Yes.' 'And you knew Ted Heath?' 'Er ... yes.' 'Well?' she said. I put the phone down. What is this bizarre obsession we have with the sexual orientation of others?

And that story continues ... He had to investigate to determine if Gordon Brown was gay - some people!

Keep away from my closet

Indeed, what is this bizarre obsession we have with the sexual orientation of others? Most especially that of homosexuals is referred to as coming out of the closet.

I have a closet, it is in my bedroom which is deep in my apartment; my home in not an open house, it is no business of anyone if I slept in my closet or in my bed. And if I did sleep in my closet and decide to come out in the morning, I do not expect to see a crowd in my bedroom or a snoop peeping through my 7^th floor window ready to sell a scoop to the village rag.

However, this colourful tale takes on a shade of pink as The Independent on Sunday published the Pink List 2007 of the celebrated and the successful few who have come of their closets - some probably waving their handbags, some screaming "look at me", but all in a position of never having to suffer the Lord Brownean white lie.

A liaison so discreet

Quite a few in the list would surprise you, but who cares if you like men or women as long are you are doing it behind closed doors and keeping the noise down - thankfully the floors and ceilings in my apartment block are concrete, it would have been insufferable - perish the thought.

More poignantly, the day before, I was reading the obituary of Sir Brian Smedley who died at 72 and was the presiding judge during the Matrix Churchill trial where the government of the day was ready to sacrifice people in legitimate and government-sanctioned business to the unforgivable pretensions of not selling arms to Iraq.

This case was thrown out when Alan Clark made the classic statement of being economical with the actualité in answering questions under oath about Iraqi arms policy.

The long obituary of an utterly distinguished and respected judge ended with the fact that he was survived by his partner of 38 years, Peter Wright.

Gone are the days when discretion was the better part of valour, Lord Browne was somewhat caught in that time warp, but when are you coming out? For dinner, I meant - The obsession remains bizarre.