This article appeared in the December issue of Total Politics magazine
Each year the Independent on Sunday runs The Pink List of the 100 most influential gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Britain. For the last few years we’ve had an independent panel, made up of leading figures in the gay community, to judge the list. This year we also use Twitter to appeal for nominations − and receive thousands. Every year there is a debate in our office about whether a Pink List remains relevant − given that homosexuality is widely accepted in most parts of society, although prejudice still pervades in some sections.
The political world has made huge steps forward, but not so much in sport. Then I read a piece for our paper by rugby player Gareth Thomas, one of the few gay people in any sport to have come out (there is still no openly gay footballer in the English or Scottish professional game). Gareth writes how The Pink List inspired him to shed his fear of coming out. Reading this, it is difficult to come to any other conclusion than we should continue with the list next year.
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My seat in the House of Commons press gallery is above the government benches, but gives the best view of opposition MPs, so every week at Prime Minister’s Questions, I watch Ed Miliband and Labour’s frontbench verbal and non-verbal responses to David Cameron. Watching Ed Balls’ hand signals is sometimes like studying a bookie doing tic-tac. At the PMQs after the prime minister suffered a rebellion by 81 of his own MPs on an EU referendum, not one Conservative backbencher brought up the issue of Europe. The Labour leader did, of course. It is true that Cameron has changed his tune on Europe over the last few years. But so too has Nick Clegg. Before the 2010 general election, the Lib Dem leader wanted an in-out referendum because he had a basic belief in his head that Britain would vote to remain in.
Now the crisis in the eurozone has contributed to a shift in public opinion, and Britain would probably vote ‘out’ - so Clegg has changed his mind and no longer thinks a referendum is necessary. At the same time, when Greek premier George Papandreou announced he wanted a referendum on the £130bn euro bailout package for his country, his fellow EU leaders tried to force Greece not to have one. It is clear the European Union and democracy do not get on.
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The Occupy protest at St Paul’s Cathedral may be a more direct version of democracy but it has created such a storm for the Church of England only because of an accident of geography: its land in front of the steps was the nearest available open space to the Stock Exchange. As I write, the tents are still there and the Occupy Movement continues to look for other places to set up camp, despite the days and nights becoming colder. But I wonder whether, as December approaches, the movement has the potential to become a major theme at Christmas − a time when we are reminded of homelessness, of rich versus poor, and of greed. Then there is the Bethlehem stable imagery, which Dr Giles Fraser alluded to at the time of his resignation as chancellor of St Paul’s, when he said that he could imagine Jesus being born in the camp. So it is not hard to imagine the protesters introducing an Occupy Christmas − erecting tent villages outside other churches, and creating 21st century nativity scenes made out of polyester and nylon.
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I spend a few days swapping occupied London for the fresh air of North Yorkshire with my partner and our 16-month-old daughter. His mother’s kitchen garden puts my allotment back home to shame: rows of brussels sprouts, cabbages and fat leeks rise above weed-free soil. The redcurrants and blackberries are over but there are plenty of apples in the store. Amelia has just started walking without falling over and had her first experience of kicking autumn leaves across the lawn. We then go to the fence to take a look at the black Dexter cows and practise our mooing.
Of course, the version of the word ‘moo’ I’ve taught her from the picture books bears no resemblance to the real thing, and confronted with the urgent, somehow resentful din of the live cattle six feet away makes her freeze with fear. So we change course and wander over to the church next door, where rooks are circling overhead. I’m not sure what name we are supposed to call the sound they make, but whatever it is we’ve perfected it by lunchtime. Apart from the sound of the rooks, there is only silence. It feels like we are at the quietest church in the country. Rowan Williams probably wishes he was here too.
Jane Merrick is political editor of The Independent on Sunday
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