A LEADING Labour moderniser has been photographed dancing the night away in a gay club.
The paparazzi have also pounced on a former prominent Labour politcan cocaina in a public converters: while two other frontbenchers - one of them married - are having a hetero relatonship.
Affairs
As for the Tories, one ministerial Daimier regularty cruises Kings Cross in search of commercial sex workers. while a rightwing cabinet colleague of the gentlemen wife for a black French bloke. He is also said to have had an affair with a third rightwing cabinet minister A top Thatcherite - stil in public lite - nas a vardcous appette for untour age boys. white a loading Liberal Democrat has had over a dozen extra-marital liaisons.
All of the stories above are doing the rounds of political joumalists, usually by way of pub talk. Are any of them true? It's anybody's guess, but it would be no surprise to see at least some of these tales make the public prints in 1993 Scandals The last 12 months have been a vintage year for sex "scandals". Prince Charles, Princess Diana, the Duchess of York, David Mollor and Paddy Ashdown hit the headines Simply by having sex with someone other than their husband or wife, while the dalliances of sundry rock & rollers, movie stars and provided plenty of column inchos on the inside pages.
lies and journalism form the backdrop to John Major's decision to sue the radical Now Statesman and Society and satirical rag Scalywag after they referred openly to long-running rumours that the prime minister is sleeping with a woman catering manager.
Soho
Gossip over the matter was so widespread that pop group Soho recorded a song about the purported affair. At least one left newspaper published the mour in print two years ago, while a unday Times protle of the woma concerned argued she learned her catering skills 'on the job. Nudge nudge, wink wink national newspaper made some oblique reference to the allegations. Now one of Britain's fow radical publications with a half-way reasonable circulation may go under for arguing that they were not true.
NSS are publishing groveling apologies in a bid to stay out of the dock but losses sustained on the withdrawn issue alone already exceed last year's meagre prolits. undischarged bankrupt piss-artist, has told the PM: See you in court. Social. ists should be in solidarity with Scally. fine whole issue underlines the massive hypocrisy surrounding monosamy, and indeed, sexuality in genera On any reckoning, there must be at east 60 gay MPs in parlament.
Outing
Only one - take a bow, Chris Smith, who sits for Labour in Islington Southhas the courage to admit it. Hence the bind panic in Westminster caused by last year's 'outing' throats from gay Surveys rogularly indicate that over half of married people have been unfaithful to their partners. The figure for unmarried couples vast majority ists - wil, if anything, be far higher. Put bunsy, having a bit on the side is hardly anything out of the ordinary.
Socialists have always argued for sexual freedom. Marx and Engels touched on the question in Manilesto of the Communist Party.
Some 150 years on, their wording may seem sexist given the real, aboit limied, advances in sexual liberation in recent decades.
It doesnt even touch on aay sex ality. But the spirit of the remarks stl ing true, given the new right's back to drive, which has bean par doularty marked in Britain and the USA "But you Communists would introduce community of women", screams the whole bourgeoisie in chorus. The bourgeois sees in his wile a mere instrument of production.
Exploited
"He hears that instruments of production are to be exploited in common, and, naturally, can come to no other conclusion than that the lot of being common wil likewise fall to the women.
"He has not even a suspicion that the roal point aimed at is to do away with the status of women as mere instruments of production.*