Peers vote to keep gay ban

Many peers say schools should promote marriage

Peers have defeated the government over its plans to scrap the ban on the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities.

Campaigners for saving the controversial clause, including the former Prime Minister Lady Thatcher, celebrated their victory.

The overwhelming majority of parents do not want this kind of teaching in schools, paid for by tax-payers

Baroness Young

It is the second time Lords have rejected government plans to scrap Section 28 and ministers must now decide whether to drop the proposal.

It had been widely expected that if peers inflicted another defeat, the government would forego the repeal clause rather than lose its Local Government Bill altogether.

After the defeat, the government said it remained committed to the repeal of Section 28.

Local Government Minister Hilary Armstrong said she was "very disappointed" and the government would now consider "the best way forward".

Hague backs Lords

Tory leader William Hague urged the government to drop its attempt to repeal Section 28 and accept the will of the "mainstream majority" of the British people.

"The House of Lords has once again shown that, on this issue they are more representative of the British people than the House of Commons," he said.

Lady Young says children must be protected

The vote followed a heated two-hour debate in the Lords, which saw impassioned pleas on both sides.

Conservative Baroness Young, who spearheaded the campaign to save the legislation, says the section provides essential protection for youngsters against gay "propaganda".

Repeal would be deeply unpopular with the public, she told peers before the vote.

The clause affects authorities in England and Wales. Section 28 was scrapped in Scotland last month.

5,000 letters

The vote by peers was 270 to 228, a majority of 42 against the government.

She had rarely known an issue which touched people so deeply, illustrated by the 5,000 letters of support she had received.

The bill has bounced between the Commons and the Lords

"If Section 28 is repealed, then outside of education narrowly defined as sex education, there will be no safeguards," the baroness warned.

With Lady Thatcher listening intently, she said it would be perfectly legal for a local authority to promote homosexuality in lessons such as English, where parents have no right to withdraw their children.

Lady Young said repeal would send a clear signal to local authorities to promote homosexuality.

She said: "I will fight for the protection of children while I have breath in my body.

"The overwhelming majority of parents do not want this kind of teaching in schools, paid for by tax-payers and council-tax-payers."

"I am perfectly certain that were we to vote to keep Section 28, the House of Lords would once again be speaking for the overwhelming majority of the British people," she said.

'No bullying evidence'

Those who want the law scrapped argue it can lead to bullying, but Baroness Young said there was no evidence of this.

The vote was tighter than last time, as Prime Minister Tony Blair has since created another 30 Labour and Liberal Democrat life peers.

Liberal Democrat Earl Russell argued it would be wrong and unfair to cast one group of people as inferior.

The Bishop of Winchester said he would vote against the government, arguing it would be "most unwise" to repeal the clause. The section was a "stabilising benchmark", he said.

Plea for tolerance

Gay Labour peer Lord Alli said Section 28 did not apply to public schools, yet they had not been flooded by gay propaganda.

Knowledge of racism or anti-semitism did not make people black or Jews, so knowledge of gay issues could not turn people homosexual.

It remains the responsibility of this House to respect and protect the interests of minorities

Lord Whitty

"Let us extend to others the tolerance and understanding that we try give each other in this House," he said.

Conservative education spokeswoman Baroness Blatch warned that militant gay groups would dance for joy, while parents and teachers would shed tears if the clause was scrapped.

Local Government Minister Lord Whitty said the government had brought forward sex education guidelines to replace the clause.

"It remains the responsibility of this House to respect and protect the interests of minorities against majorities," he said.

"This is a human rights issue."