Article Surfing Archive

Well Darlings,

How was it for you? GB's Budget?

Whether you see that GB above as "Great Britain", "Gordon Brown", or "Grab-it Back" is, I suppose, very subjective. Gay people have come out of it with a bit of a mixed deal. If you like a couple of evenings at a pub or a club and enjoy a pint or two and a cigarette (while you still may) then you've been hit hard again. Another 8p on twenty fags and 4p on a pint may easily cost you over '116.00 annually. And if you are a pensioner with one of the few simple pleasures left in life being a smoke and a pint, add these increases to the rising council tax bills and the massive rises in gas and electricity prices and you are in very deep do-do. Incidentally, never mind that 1,000 jobs have been lost in our brewing industry over the last 12 months, beer duty continues to rise. It has risen a staggering 22% since 1997. Beer is now taxed more than wine in relative terms, and we still import most of our wine as opposed to our beer - the beer is usually made in the UK and provides us with jobs even if it has a foreign name on the label.

Treasury revenue forecasts 37.4% tax next year, and a projected rise to an all-time high of 37.8% in 2007/8, and it doesn't stop there. They predict 38.0%, 38.1% and 38.2% in the subsequent years - and how often have you known them to over-estimate? Folks, the worst is yet to come. Some are already saying the Treasury's forecast of current budget surpluses in 2007/8 and subsequent years is 'over optimistic', although they think it "may be able to muddle through" with a combination of windfall taxes and adjustments to the cycle. No prizes for guessing the direction of those adjustments!

So what else have gay people received? Well, for tax purposes, same-sex couples who have registered in a civil partnership will now be treated as married couples and as such will be free from inheritance tax and Capital Gains Tax. That's "Whoopee!" if you are in the money and not claiming benefits where being "married" will adversely affect the amount you can claim. But perhaps the good news on condoms covers you. No longer to be considered a "luxury" item, the VAT on condoms will be reduced to 5%. However if you are one of the 25% of gay people who only use free condoms, then this won't affect you - nor will it if you find sex too taxing anyway (for some this beats saying they can't get it!), and don't bother any more!

All in all, I think the Budget was everything we expected. The overall tax burden has risen significantly yet again, and I wouldn't object to that so much if I could see some advantages or benefits, but I don't. It seems the more we are taxed, and the more the government spends our money, the worse things are becoming. To me this suggests that money will never solve the problems we have - it's time we looked elsewhere for the solutions.

Moving on: Rainbow Network has revealed statistics of concern with their online poll. 33% of those surveyed in the UK and America said they had not come out to their doctor, with a further 11% saying they were worried they would be discriminated against should they do so. It is possible that this feeling is not without some justification.

Going back a few years, I was privileged to help the Swindon Project for AIDS Counselling and Education (SPACE) with a survey of all the local GPs (it took in all the then Thamesdown area; a significant area) to find out their attitudes towards gay people and their knowledge of gay issues. Although the substantial questionnaire was accepted well, and there were only two abstainers (I believe), the information gathered worried us greatly. I guess matters will have improved since those days as, like we did, most towns and cities will have had their similar organisations informing and educating - but will they have improved enough? Perhaps it's time for another survey to find out.

When you consider it once took a voluntary gay social group and a local commercial radio station broadcast to get the existence of HIV and AIDS actually recognised by an Area Health Authority, then we should never be complacent just because we read of great medical advances - they may not necessarily always be happening in our own back yard!

I can remember when I moved from the outskirts of Swindon, buying a house in the town, I had to change my doctor and I landed up with quite a choice, but armed with my privileged information I was able to choose wisely, and I chose what turned out to be the best doctor for a gay person I have ever known. Data protection can sometimes be a double-edged sword. It would have been beneficial to all gay gay people in the area to have known which doctors had a good attitude towards gay people and which were keeping abreast of gay issues - but the law prohibited them being advised. Nevertheless I noted the news still got around. Silly write-ins to the local gay newsletter's Letters Page would appear like: "Who apart from family and friends do you send Xmas cards to? I always send one to my milkman because he never forgets me, and one to my doctor, Doctor X, because he's so friendly and well informed . . ." The law may be an ass, but the people may be inventive!

I'm pleased to see that across the pond a new report has concluded there is no child-centred reason to prevent gays and lesbians from becoming adoptive parents. Adam Pertman, the Executive Director of the Adoption Institute is reported as saying: "There's simply no credible research to indicate that children are harmed in any way when they're adopted by gay and lesbian parents, but there's lots of evidence to indicate that they do well in those homes. So, if we as a society believe that kids should be our primary concern, we have to put aside our prejudices and preconceived notions, and do the best we can for them."

It's encouraging for "The Land of the Free", where all too often the tremendous advances made in technology and ease of lifestyle there have not always been matched by advances in modern and sensible thinking. Apparently Florida is now the only state with an all-out ban on gay adoption - and we all know about Florida, don't we? Not electing to beat about the Bush, it is a Mickey Mouse state!

Must go darlings, there's another book out this year, and I'm already being pushed for the next one even though this is one is still in the last stages of proofing. Many a midnight hour is being burnt at the moment, and I think I'm sending a good friend into insanity by asking her to check it for me. Do watch out for The Elephant's Nest, it should be in the shops sometime this summer (good for the holiday flight!), but please don't divulge the ending! A gay book? Shh! Mum's the word!