Ben Summerskill disappoints me (again)

Ben Summerskill (former Chief Executive of Stonewall) has stirred up controversy today thanks to an article in today’s Observer. 

He has accused the Liberal Democrats acting in a "cynical and opportunistic" way when they decided to back gay marriage shortly after coming to power in May 2010.

Ben Summerskill, who stepped down last month as chief executive of Stonewall after running the gay rights charity for 11 years, said it was politically expedient for the Lib Dems to back a policy that put a distance between themselves and the Conservative party at a time when there was enormous disquiet about the two parties forming a coalition.

 He told the Observer that he stood by his remarks, made for a Radio 4 programme, and had been convinced of the Lib Dems' cynicism when former MP Evan Harris greeted the conference vote to adopt gay marriage by saying: "This is great because we put clear blue water between us and the Tories." "Note that he didn't say, 'hurrah – this is great news for gay couples or for equality'," said Summerskill. "He made it crystal clear that at that time it was politically opportunistic for the Lib Dems. It is certainly a less edifying view of the politicians involved, but it's a true view. All you have to do is look at the Lib Dem manifesto in May 2010, even their gay manifesto, and gay marriage doesn't appear. Suddenly, three months later, there they were quite cynically adopting the policy."

This has obviously upset a lot of Liberal Democrats. In the same article Lynne Featherstone says:

"That's absolute rubbish. We are the party of equality and Ben knows that. It wasn't in the manifesto probably because no one thought it could be achieved – not because of any lack of desire to do it.

"I wasn't going to raise this, but it has to be said that Stonewall wasn't in favour of equal marriage and they changed – and I'm very grateful they changed. It is somewhat upsetting to hear that that is his attitude. I thought we were all working together on this. I'm very surprised and disappointed to hear him say that. It's completely unnecessary."

Pink News has written a good article summarizing the outrage that the article has caused. It highlights the support for same-sex marriage from Nick Clegg and David Cameron before the election.

Stephen Glenn has also written a good post explaining the nature of policy making in the Liberal Democrat party. He shows that the policy originated before the 2010 election.

As I wrote when the same-sex marriage bill became law:

The role of Stonewall has been interesting to watch. From initially opposing the policy to then making it a priority campaign. I'm sure that it has been heavily involved behind the scenes, usings its knowledge of parliamentary processes and contacts with MPs and Lords to get the bill through. I remain a supporter of Stonewall but can see why other people are not.

Ben Summerskill spoke at a fringe meeting of the Liberal Democrat conference in 2010. This was held a day before the conference was expected to make same-sex marriage party policy. Although the meeting was not recorded, he comments were reported in blogs and tweets. Zoe O’Connell wrote a particularly good post. Ben basically argued that Stonewall did not support same-sex marriage for a number of reasons including:

• Civil partnerships had basically the same rights
• That it would cost too much for pension equality
• Some feminist lesbians were against marriage as a patriarchal institution
• Whilst there were still homophobic attacks, it was not a priority to campaign for same-sex marriage.

It was Ben’s comments at that meeting that damaged the reputation of Ben Summerskill and Stonewall among many Liberal Democrats and other supporters of same-sex marriage. I was disappointed in him then.

Despite Stonewall’s subsequent change in policy to support equality, for many people Ben Summerskill’s legacy at Stonewall will be remembered as including being behind the curve on same-sex marriage.

He now looks like he is blaming “cynical” Liberal Democrats for pushing the equality agenda faster that he wanted. And I am disappointed in him again.