William Hague: i'm not gay!

[Danger Man]

I do wonder whether the problem might be that Myers is gay

The problem is more likely to be that Hague stuck his boyfriend on the payroll.

But they have to get Hague to admit that he's his boyfriend first before they can moan about Hague's actions.

[Virgo76]

I seem to remember that Hague's actually got a pretty good (as in liberal) voting record on homosexual issues. Surprisingly so, bearing in mind his positions on most other issues. So I don't think he's been hypocritical in that sense.

[Tiny Poster]

I seem to remember that Hague's actually got a pretty good (as in liberal) voting record on homosexual issues. Surprisingly so, bearing in mind his positions on most other issues. So I don't think he's been hypocritical in that sense.

Voted "moderately against equal gay rights" according to Public Whip.

[small_world]

I was at work when I first heard about this. Now, I really don't care about politicians private lives, I don't know who's gay/out,  married, with children or whatever. So when I asked "Is William Hague gay?" I had a second to think to myself, "Well done, what a plonker, of course he is, look at that picture" But alas, no. No yet, well, not officially anyway.
He certainly looks gay. A definate entry for the 'People You Thought Were Gay' thread.

[uglybob1986]

This pair shared a room for years

Nothing catholic priests do could possibly be gay

[Twibbie]

Hague does not have a liberal record on gay rights votes: voted against adoption rights for gay couples, voted to keep Section 28, voted against IVF for lesbians, and didn't attend votes on civil unions or equalising the age of consent.

[biggytitbo]

he's definetly a homosex then.

[Pepotamo1985]

He's shared a room with his 'special advisor' and his wife hasn't had any kids.

Yes, on those tenuous grounds, he's almost certainly a homo. You fucking twat. You'll find plenty of rabid, reactionary, no smoke without fire homophobes loitering on The Sun forums, why don't you piss off there?

Hague allowed his 'special advisor' to resign

His advisor resigned of his own volition because he had a seraglio of cuntish journalists camped outside his house photographing him whenever he left or entered pestering him for quotes and his family and friends were similarly getting hounded with questions as to his sexuality. They doorstepped his fucking parents and demanded to know whether he'd ever had any gay experiences, for fuck's sake. The poor chap in question is a posh, young (barely 25), inexperienced university graduate who couldn't handle the media witch hunt but could see the character assassination and probing that was brewing a mile off, so he quit. A young man trying to break into politics at an early age has had his dreams, reputation and career destroyed by pointless, contrivedly salacious muttering initiated by Guido Fawkes and a media who smelled a potential story and ministerial scalping, or in the least a ministerial outing and ensuing divorce.

I don't see why he didn't just ignore this stupid 'slur' instead of issuing a statement stating that his wife has had a lot of miscarriages.

Well, in regard to the miscarriage part, presumably because fucking idiots like you seem to think that a lack of children in a marriage must mean it's a loveless sham which is a front for homosexual preferences and activity. What you don't understand is, the relatively low coverage of the story and speculation as to his sexuality in the media is because they don't have a leg to stand on, merely a small selection of inconsequential, unrelated facts which can be ordered to give the incredibly vague suggestion that Hague just might be gay. They've been dropping small hints about the state of Hague's marriage and Hague's homosexuality for weeks, and believe, his wife and family will have been hounded too, for the tiniest gobbet of information so they can run with it. UK governments are very good at getting injunctions banning journalists from mentioning things before they break and are equally good at getting newspapers and journos fined or even imprisoned for publishing stories pertaining to them that have no basis in reality so they've been very careful with this story publicly. Privately, I don't doubt they've been imposing, nosy shits and I feel sympathy for everyone caught up in this. I think Hague did the right thing by facing these rumours head on, issuing a full, frank and quite personal retort and saying he wouldn't comment further. I don't doubt that you'd probably be pinning an equally guilty  significance to his actions if he merely ignored the rumours.

I mean, it's not as if anyone is going to believe anything he says after that '14 pints a night' nonsense he, umm, came out with a few years ago.

Yeah, that was pretty ridiculous, but he said he drank a lot throughout the day whilst labouring, rather than going out and drinking 14 pints a night on the lash.

[Ignatius_S]

For those who haven't seen the original stories that have be driving this coverage, here they are:

http://order-order.com/2010/08/31/exclusive-hague-shared-night-in-hotel-bedroom-with-spad/
http://order-order.com/2010/08/29/flashback-hagues-gay-special-adviser/

For all the insinuation, the sharing of hotel rooms has only been confirmed as one night.

... this has all been stirred up by rampantly egotistical blogging twat Guido Fawkes on the basis of seemingly fuck-all.

Hammer meets nail *tips hat*

The problem is more likely to be that Hague stuck his boyfriend on the payroll.

But they have to get Hague to admit that he's his boyfriend first before they can moan about Hague's actions.

Although Paul Staines A.K.A. Guido Fawkes has been indulging in innuendo and insinuations about the fact that it's a story about two blokes, for example:

"One witness told Guido that the room sharing couple's body language at breakfast was eye opening." - http://order-order.com/2010/08/31/exclusive-hague-shared-night-in-hotel-bedroom-with-spad/

this type of thing being what one would expect him to, what Staines is actually claiming, is that the real scandal is:

Myers' appointment is controversial because 25-year old Myers has no expertise for the job, no relevant experience and his only qualification for the position is his closeness to the Foreign Secretary.

Staines has gone on the defensive over allegations that he's homophobic, - e.g. he used to be 'ripped to the tits in gay clubs' so how could I be homophobic? – and he only raises this in the public interest. This is largely due to pals like Iain Dale criticising him along these lines.

The campaign against William Hague on the Guido Fawkes blog is nothing short of reprehensible. The lies, smears and innuendo are pathetic. So Hague and his assistant shared a room during the election campaign. Wow, what a revelation. What he's effectively saying is that two people of the same sex can't share a room without having rampant sex. Well that maybe Guido's experience but it certainly ain't mine. Unfortunately.
Is this really a journalistic scoop? No. It's nothing of the sort, but it allows the papers to keep the story running for another day. Guido Fawkes is not a homophobe, but the way he is writing about this allows those who think he is homophobic to confirm their own prejudices.

It's disingenuous for Staines to try and claim that the sexuality has nothing to do with the story and that the issue is over public money.

Firstly, that's the angle that everyone is focussing in, not the alleged public misuse of money over a special advisor Dizzy Thinks has a piece about the interest in the gender of the people involved in these type of cases.

Staines doesn't like Hague at all – mud sticks and he knows this.

Secondly, prurient reporting and innuendo is bread and butter to his site and readers' comments. There used to be no end of suggestions (mainly from readers) that Gordon Brown was a closet homosexual. The most positive stories Staines writes about politiicians are about which gorgeous, pouting females with political aspirations he would like to shagged (he even tags such stories as 'Totty Watch'). I remember one commentator who asked if he could focus less on the laddishness and more on the campaigning/politics, who got a torrent of abuse – "Fuck off to Brokeback Mountain" was one memorable bon mot in deadly earnestness.

Many people commenting in support of Staines are reiterating the same points, i.e.:

a)   Myers didn't have the qualifications for a special advisors job;
b)   The post wasn't advertised.

Others are arguing that the appointment of special advisors are invariably a personal appointment, they aren't advertised posts.

A major reason someone is appointed as special advisor is that they're trusted by their boss and that's probably the most important qualification. Some have suggested that an ex-hack, who had problems with alcohol and had a sideline of writing porn stories, such as Alistair Campbell may not have been seen as qualified for his special advisory roles.

Myers has been labelled by some as 'a taxi driver' because he once droves Hague around, what the likes of Staines haven't said, that politicians (especially on the campaign trail) are driven by political activists.

In fact, Stewart Stevenson, who is currently the Scottish Transport Minister, had stories spread about him being a mere 'driver', who was being given a political leg-up in politics by Alex Salmond, merely for that fact he acted as his driver. In truth, he was active politically and did act as Salmond's driver on one campaign trail.

I'm sure there are many special advisor appointments could be questioned, but what Staines is really saying is this one is completely dodgy because Hague employed a special advisor, who was gay, 15 years ago and that he shared a hotel room for at least one night with Meyers.

[Tiny Poster]

It is surely inappropriate for someone of William Hague's status to be  sharing a night in a hotel room with his driver – you only have to  consider how absurd it would be if his driver were female to see it is  completely bizarre even if there were two beds.

Why, Paul? I've shared hotel rooms (and even beds) with both men and women, in a purely platonic capacity.

Staines is such a cunt. Today he's claiming that Hague "has only himself to blame for being ill-advised and has shown a staggering lack of judgement".

[Jemble Fred]

Does anyone else just find it stunning to be reminded that Hague is actually in government? He's been so well known for so long as the archetypal Tory Boy loser that it seems like Wile E Coyote catching Road Runner, or Alan Partridge getting a prime-time TV series.

[chand]

Was listening to Five Live in the car earlier and they cut away from a fairly interesting segment to catch some live grilling of William Hague. Hague immediately said he'd done his statement, and that he was here with his German counterpoint to discuss important political issues. The next question was about one of those important foreign policy issues, at which point they cut back to the studio with an air of palpable disappointment that Hague was trying to talk about politics instead of rampant bumming.

[biggytitbo]

Didn't Mark oaten go all gay because he went bald? maybe the same has happened here.

Me and Shoulders are off to Hamstead heath any week now.

[koeman]

Was listening to Five Live in the car earlier and they cut away from a fairly interesting segment to catch some live grilling of William Hague. Hague immediately said he'd done his statement, and that he was here with his German counterpoint to discuss important political issues. The next question was about one of those important foreign policy issues, at which point they cut back to the studio with an air of palpable disappointment that Hague was trying to talk about politics instead of rampant bumming.

How horribly sad. The whole world is just prurient and fucked up.

[The Boston Crab]

The scattershot fury of the literal man

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you must be a skim-reader.

[Treguard of Dunshelm]

This whole saga has made me do something I'd though I'd never do, much less have the courage to admit: I feel sympathy for Wiliam Hague.

[Danger Man]

Yes, on those tenuous grounds, he's almost certainly a homo. You fucking twat. You'll find plenty of rabid, reactionary, no smoke without fire homophobes loitering on The Sun forums, why don't you piss off there?

False edit:

You are either really thick or this is a wind-up.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

[Danger Man]

fucking idiots like you seem to think that a lack of children in a marriage must mean it's a loveless sham which is a front for homosexual preferences and activity.

Got me bang to rights.

My own marriage is childless and thanks to you I've now just realised that it isn't because both myself and my wife don't want children, it's because it's a loveless sham which is a front for homosexual preferences and activity.

What a fucking idiot I am!!!

[Cerys]

EDIT: Oh Cerys has only gone and replied to it, making me look QUITE the goose.

Sorry :)

[biggytitbo]

Got me bang to rights.

My own marriage is childless and thanks to you I've now just realised that it isn't because both myself and my wife don't want children, it's because it's a loveless sham which is a front for homosexual preferences and activity.

What a fucking idiot I am!!!

Or you're a Jaffa?

[Danger Man]

Or you're a Jaffa?

Mark Oaten was gay, bald and had some kind of poo fixation.   

Now there's a conspiracy for you....

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I prove my sexuality by making all my women miscarry so I can brag about it.

[Braintree]

I prove my sexuality by making all my women miscarry so I can brag about it.

I was quite mortified by this. I don't know if I would want that sort of thing coming out just because my husband has a habit of wearing too tight t-shirts around men with lovely hair.

I'm not sure what side of the fence I am on this; I just find the whole thing odd. Especially the whole employing someone who may or may not have the qualifications. It doesn't help that there are rumours about Lord Coe and Hague coming out of the woodwork either. Based on this rather dodgy line from a Daily Mail story years ago.

Olympic gold medallist Sebastian Coe, who received a life peerage for his services to William Hague

Outrageous! I hope I one day receive a peerage for servicing Chuka Umunna

The uproar about sharing a room is a minor added detail to all the other rumours that have surrounded Hague. That instance was simply a cost saving measure that most people do to save money, whether that be as a business trip or a holiday.

Did anyone else find the line "I've not had a relationship with any man" suspicious. He may not have had a realtionship but that doesn't mean he's not slept with any men. He should have been more graphic and used the line "Sexual relations" with added 'finger in hole' motions just to clarify.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I simply don't understand why he would use such harrowing and intimate details of his wife's failed pregnancies to prove he's straight. As we all know, the sperms of gay men deform in the womb and are subsequently voided by the host.

[Braintree]

I simply don't understand why he would use such harrowing and intimate details of his wife's failed pregnancies to prove he's straight. As we all know, the sperms of gay men deform in the womb and are subsequently voided by the host.

I know it is his foetus too but I really don't think it is his place to discuss her miscarriages. You keep that sort of thing private, or at least for Hello! Magazine when Ffion invites them to their "Lovely home"

[Saucer51]

I remember shortly after Brown became Chancellor he appeared on Desert Island Discs with Sue Lawley. Even without any potential 'hypocritical anti-gay politician' story to ferret out she spent three quarters of the show verbally poking him in the chest and demanding to know if he was only pretending to be straight... "It's odd that you never married... Have you never wanted a female companion..? Does your schedule not permit you to socialise with the opposite sex..? Were you a lady's man at University..? Are you now or have you ever been a bear?"

erm........no, it's ok.

[Saucer51]

I know it is his foetus too but I really don't think it is his place to discuss her miscarriages. You keep that sort of thing private, or at least for Hello! Magazine when Ffion invites them to their "Lovely home"

I think too although he probably sought her permission to give out personal info, I still think it's rotten to have very private anguishes trotted out for public consumption just because your partner is in a tight spot politically.

On a lighter, more banal note, in the sentence above I can spot 5 double entendres. It wasn't intentional. What I mean is, I never meant it to happen.

[boki]

Does anyone else just find it stunning to be reminded that Hague is actually in government?

Troodat, but in my case it's my own shocking ignorance of anything that isn't directly related to me doing the things I'm absolutely obliged to do on any given day, so I'm perhaps not the best sample.  My first thought when the story broke was, 'Why am I supposed to give a fuck about Billy Vague and his assistant?  Why does he even have an assistant?  Has he landed a gig editing some right-leaning publication or.....WHOA, he's in the FUCKING CABINET?'

TBH, though, it's not like this cabinet's really a real one anyway. Except for the stuff about it having the same power, obv.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

If the taggers hadn't been so quick on the draw and concentrated, they could've had "The Hagueys not for turning" and 'A Hague on both your arses'.

For shame.

[biggytitbo]

I'd bet my arse Hague isn't gay. He's from Yorkshire, we only got gayness 2 years ago!