A letter to the Daily Telegraph which was published on 28th August 2000.

Steve Norris repeats the myth that one in 10 of the population is homosexual.  This proportion may apply to media circles in London, but in this matter as in so many others, central London is completely untypical of the country as a whole.

The authoritative study of nearly 19,000 randomly selected adults across the country published in Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1994) showed the proportion of male homosexuals was about 1.3 per cent and the proportion of female homosexuals about 0.6 per cent, which together make about one in 100, not one in 10 of the population.

Contrary to Mr Norris’s other mantra, a political party does not need to be “inclusive” of every self-defining minority in order to win a general election.  In the past three elections the winning party secured 44 per cent, 42 per cent and 43 per cent of the votes cast, or an average of just 31 per cent of the electorate.

The problem for the Conservative Party is not its supposed lack of “inclusiveness” but its real lack of articulated policies which make sense to the main body of its potential support.  On taxation, immigration and asylum seeking, healthcare, roads, most European matters other than the euro, on industry, crime and social security, it is difficult to see what (if anything) the Conservative Party intend to do in these key fields should they be elected next year.