Carrie Johnson arrives at Tory party conference where she is due to give LGBT+ rights speech
Carrie Symonds says Boris Johnson is ‘totally committed’ to gay rights as she makes her Tory conference speaking debut at an LGBT+ Pride reception (with the PM in the audience)
Carrie Johnson said PM is ‘totally committed’ to LGBT rights as she made her Tory Conference speaking debutBoris’s pregnant wife voiced her pride at moves like equal marriage brought in by Conservative leaders PM in the audience as she said it was ‘blatantly untrue … that being LGBT+ and a Tory is incompatible’
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Carrie Johnson said the Prime Minister is ‘totally committed’ to LGBT rights tonight as she made her Tory Conference speaking debut.
Boris’s pregnant wife voiced her pride at moves like equal marriage that were brought in by Conservative leaders as she addressed a Pride reception in Manchester.
It is believed to be the first speech by a prime minister’s wife at a conference.
With Mr Johnson, and his sister Rachel in the audience, she said it was ‘blatantly untrue … that being LGBT+ and a Tory is somehow incompatible’.
The Prime Minister has come in for criticism in the past for comments he made while a newspaper columnist, including referring to gay men as ‘tank-topped bum boys’.
But Mrs Johnson told the packed crowd: ‘Whether you are LGBT+ or an ally like me we are all committed to equality and acceptance for everyone whoever you are and whoever you love.
‘There are still those who tell me that being LGBT+ and a Tory is somehow incompatible, well, looking around me tonight, we can see that is blatantly untrue.
‘Many of you here tonight have helped play a part in the journey our party has taken on gay rights and we can now say with huge pride that it was a Conservative prime minister who delivered equal marriage in England and Wales.
‘I want you all to know that we now have a Prime Minister who is completely committed to accepting those gains and extending them further.’
‘As a backbencher Boris broke the whip to vote in favour of repealing Section 28, as mayor of London he supported same sex marriage, as foreign secretary he lifted the ban on British embassies abroad flying the pride flag and as prime minister he has appointed the great Nick Herbert as the UK’s first special envoy on LGBT rights. Last year he extended same sex marriage to Northern Ireland.’
She then added: ‘Boris also wanted me to remind you that as mayor he led the Pride parade wearing a rather fetching pink Stetson, which I think we should encourage him to do again.
Boris’s pregnant wife voiced her pride at moves like equal marriage that were brought in by Conservative leaders as she addressed a Pride reception in Manchester.
With Mr Johnson, and his sister Rachel in the audience, she said it was ‘blatantly untrue … that being LGBT+ and a Tory is somehow incompatible’.
Referencing gay marriage, Mrs Johnson told the packed crowd: ‘We now have a prime minister who is completely committed to protecting those gains and extending them.
Carrie Johnson, the wife of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wears a £59.99 blazer from Zara as she arrives at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on Tuesday
The prime minister’s wife (pictured arriving at the conference today), 33, has been named guest of honour at the party’s Pride reception in Manchester
‘But more seriously, the Government he leads is banning conversion therapy, rolling out PrEP on the NHS in England as part of its mission to eliminate HIV transmission and restoring medal to veterans who had them stripped form them for being lesbian or gay.
‘But for all the progress we have made as a society we know there is still a long way to go
‘The LGBT+ community still faces stigma, harassment and discrimination, with hate crimes still a fact of life. I heard myself from such a victim of crime at the pride reception we held in DS earlier this year and I have to say I was moved to tears.’
Earlier she had made her long-awaited arrival at the conference in Manchester in a vivid scarlet coat.
She changed into a shimmering blue dress for the reception at the Midland Hotel, which was packed.
The 33-year-old was wearing a £59.99 blazer and a £27.99 collared shirt with a bow – both from Zara – as she arrived under gloomy skies this afternoon.
Mrs Johnson, who is expecting her second child with the PM, is ‘a longstanding ally’, according to Elena Bunbury, chairwoman of the LGBT+ Conservatives.
She told the event
She told The Times before the event: ‘Carrie has always been a good sport to LGBT+ Conservatives.
‘She even judged our virtual lip-sync last conference. We’re thrilled she’ll be joining us in person this year in Manchester.’
The LGBT+ event was held in partnership with Stonewall, a charity that sparked controversy over a scheme for ‘diversity champions’ in Government.
The speech was a rare appearance for Mrs Johnson, who rarely involves herself directly in politics despite being a former director of communications for the Tory party.
The director of communications at the Aspinall Foundation, a wildlife charity, has previously lobbied on environmentalism.
It comes after the PM last week finally admitted that he is the father of six children after years of speculation about the number of children he had.
The speech is a rare appearance for Mrs Johnson, who rarely involves herself directly in politics despite being a former director of communications for the Tory party
The PM has a son, Wilfred, with third wife Carrie and four with his second wife Marina Wheeler.
The PM poses with a digger during his party’s annual conference in Manchester on Tuesday
He told US TV it is ‘a lot of hard work’ being a parent before insisting that he ‘changes a lot of nappies’.
Mr Johnson is notoriously reluctant to discuss his private life but let down his guard on American television last week.
In an interview with NBC on his trip to New York, he admitted for the first time that he has six children – from three different relationships – although there has been some suggestion that there may actually be a seventh.
The PM has a son, Wilfred, with third wife Carrie and four with his second wife Marina Wheeler.
He also has a daughter from an affair in 2009 with journalist and art critic Helen Macintyre – although a court case in 2013 hinted that there may be a second.
