A Tory who identifies within the LGBT+ community has revealed what it is like to date in Liverpool in an interview with the ECHO.
Cameron Molyneux is an openly gay man who has been supporting the Conservative party since the 2010 general election.
The 23-year-old from Widnes said he wishes people ‘would leave preconceptions on what it means to be a gay Tory from Liverpool at the door when it comes to dating.’
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The former John Moores University student told the ECHO : “A lot of the old stigma still lingers, the attitude and the views that people still think the Conservatives are a party of the 80s.
“The idea of Thatcher is what people still seem to think of when they think of the party. In reality it’s a lot more nuanced than that these days.
“You see it on dating apps all the time, ‘no fats, no fems, no Tories.’ It’s the three rules.
“Discriminating against body image or discriminating against how someone presents, is something we all get up in arms about it, we defend them, we side with them but for political beliefs, it’s obviously personal choice, but there is a fair amount of discrimination still around.”
Cameron has been the secretary for his local association, assisted in campaigns for PM’s, attended conferences and even stood as local council.
However, the law student says it was harder for him to come out as Conservative to his parents than it was as gay.
He explained: “My parents are very political but not for the same party as me, they are members of the Labour party.
“It was a bigger shock coming out to my family as Conservative than it was coming out as gay.
“Telling them I had a boyfriend at the time, he was welcomed with open arms and told him to come in, telling them I was Conservative, was not a conversation for the dinner table.”
Cameron’s interest in politics began when he decided to form his own opinion after looking into David Cameron’s politics around the time of the 2010 general election.
However, it wasn’t until he appeared on Question Time in Warrington until he was sure what party he wanted to support.
At the time, he asked British politician, Emily Thornberry, a question regarding Brexit and it was her dismissal response that led him to become more active in politics.
Since then, he says he has been welcomed by many Conservatives regardless of his sexual orientation.
He said: “I think you can separate politics from your sexuality, but you don’t have to.
“I personally, don’t, I am very open and very out with my local association, several MPS and cabinet ministers have been very accepting and couldn’t be more welcome when they found out I was gay.
“There’s a stigma that needs to be left in the past. I find that conservatives are no more or less homophobic than anyone else.
“I’ve met some incredibly accepting and open, liberal even, conservative voters and on the same hand I’ve heard of some staunch right winged opinions coming from liberal voters.
“I tend to be quite forthcoming and open when meeting people with who I am, what I believe and what I stand for.
“I feel like I have nothing to hide but you do get some opposition and sometimes you could have everything in the world in common with someone but as soon as they find out you tick the wrong box on the voting card, it’s game over.”
The residential care worker, who has a keen interest in geopolitics, explained that he has never dated another Tory from Liverpool, calling them a “rare breed.”
However, he has dated supporters from the opposite party and said if politics ever did come up in a relationship it was as a friendly debate rather than an argument.
He added: “In relationships and friendships, I would always agree to disagree, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs.
“I would campaign in the streets for someone’s right to believe in something that goes completely against mine.
“It’s free speech and I respect anyone who strongly believes in something and can back that up with reasons, I respect that even if it goes against my views.”
Cameron says that when it comes to LGBT+ issues, for example, health care around the trans community, he leans more towards a libertarian mindset.
He said: “If the situation came up where hypothetically someone wanted to reverse same sex-marriage, I would stand against it.
“I will always put something that directly impacts my community before anything else."
Moving forward, Cameron hopes to run again for local election and hopefully at a Westminster level eventually.
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