Labour voters are more likely to reject their child for being gay than Conservative, Lib Dem or Ukip voters, according to research today that explores attitudes towards LBGT people among supporters of four political parties.
Seven per cent of Labour voters polled by YouGov for LGBT news site PinkNews said they would not support their child if he or she was gay.
This compares to 6% of Ukip voters, 3% of Tories and 1% of Lib Dem voters who said they would not offer support to a daughter or son who came out.
Just under one in 10 Labour voters wouldn't support a gay child, research claims
But while Tory voters are more likely to offer support to a gay child than Labour supporters, they are less likely to be happy with the situation.
Under half of Conservatives (48%) said they would be "happy" to have a gay child, compared to 59% of Labour voters and 76% of Lib Dem voters. Ukip voters were the least comfortable with having a gay child: just 37% said they would be happy to.
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The survey of 1,683 people found that Ukip voters were also the least likely to support a transgender child. One fifth (20%) of those polled said they would drop support for their offspring if they switched gender.
Out of the Labour voters polled, 15% of Labour voters sad they wouldn't support a child if they were transgender. Twelve per cent of Conservative voters said the same.
No Lib Dem voters say they would stop supporting a transgender child, reflecting what PinkNews claims is a trend of being the most LGBT tolerant group. The report notes: "Consistently, across the board, Lib Dem voters are significantly happier and more supportive of gay or transgender children and of the idea of gay men having children, compared to voters from other parties."
Half of the people polled supported gay men becoming parents
Overall, British voters are far more like to support a gay child than a transgender child, the research claims.
Just under 90% of all respondents said they would support a gay child, compared to just 67% of people asked the same question about if they had a transgender child.
Men are three times as likely to refuse to support a transgender child than women (18% to 6%, respectively).
The research also found that:
- Opinions appeared to vary by region: only 1% of respondents in the North of England said they wouldn't support a gay child, and 2% said the same in Scotland. But in London, 13% of voters claimed they would withdraw support from their child if he or she was gay
- Londoners were also twice as likely to reject supporting a transgender child (20% said they would) compared to Northerners (9%) or Scots (10%)
- Middle-aged people were the most likely age group to support a gay child: 91% of people aged 40-59 said they would be supportive
- Only half (52%) of the people polled approved of gay men becoming parents
PinkNews is holding a live-streamed debate political tonight around LGBT issues, chaired by Evan Davis and featuring figures including shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and chief whip Don Foster. It can be watched on YouTube from 6.30pm.