Achi news desk-
He was sounding a warning on the chilling of free speech.
“We’re now in a situation where people are going ‘homophobic, homophobic, homophobic’ very quickly so maybe we’re hanging back here. We’re becoming more liberal as a society but we’ve become less tolerant of unsuccessful attitudes.”
Sir John also drew a comparison between same-sex marriage debates 20 years ago and today’s debates over trans rights, which played a role in the decline of Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf as Prime Ministers.
He said: “Most people’s opinion is that if a man wants to wear a dress, that’s fine. So social transition is not controversial; it’s just a question of the legal position and going to the toilets. When you look at the structure of attitudes towards transgender, it’s very similar to attitudes towards same-sex relationships about 20 years ago.”
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The question for Sir John is whether the transgender debate is the other way around, and raises the case of Isla Bryson, the male rapist who was sent to a women’s prison.
“We know that attitudes across the board have moved against making it easier for people,” he said.
“The critical feminists have had the best of the debate. The question we have to ask is whether Isla Bryson is an Aids moment. The Aids scare shifted public opinion for a time against same-sex relationships in the late 80s. The point is will it necessarily show the long-term trend, as Aids did not, or is it true that we will eventually become more liberal?”
Sir John will discuss his chapter on the 1997 election in British General Election Campaigns 1830–2019 at the Boswell Book Festival on May 11 at 6.30pm. For more information, see www.boswellbookfestival.co.uk
