Ed Miliband GLBT Labour members are backing MP Ed Miliband in this month's Labour leadership election, which will decide the successor to Gordon Brown. PinkNews.co.uk asked 680 GLBT members of the Labour Party how they intend to vote in the leadership election, together with 236 non-party members who either voted Labour in May or would vote Labour if there was an election tomorrow. Ed Miliband was the overwhelming choice of LGBT members of the party with 42 percent support. His brother David Miliband has 31 percent support, Diane Abbott was backed by 16 percent, while Andy Burnham and Ed Balls reached seven and four percent respectively. Abbott was the most popular candidate among non-party members who either voted Labour during the last general election or who would vote Labour if there was a general election held tomorrow. She secured 36 percent support, just ahead of Ed Miliband who secured 35 percent. David Miliband was ranked third with 20 percent, Andy Burnham scored five percent and Ed Balls four percent. Pink News believes the high levels of support for Ed Miliband is likely to have stemmed from his recent comments on gay marriage, saying that civil partnerships were "not good enough". He has also called for an end to the ban on gay men donating blood, an end to GLBT asylum seekers being sent back to countries that persecute GLBT people and for stronger laws against inciting homophobic hatred.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 6th September 2010 - 10:16am