Nigel Evans: Gay Tory MP denied his sexuality until his mother died

0 shares Fiercely ambitious: Nigel Evans played the role of a red-blooded heterosexual who was keen on the opposite sex, though he never went through the pretence of having a girlfriend

When Nigel Evans became an MP in 1992, the relationship between the Conservative Party and the gay community was poisonous. 

The breakdown was caused three years earlier when Margaret Thatcher’s government passed Section 28, which banned town halls from promoting homosexuality as a normal lifestyle.

Evans, the new 31-year-old MP for Ribble Valley, had known since he was a teenager that he was gay, but desperately hoped it was a temporary phase he was going through.

At Westminster, he was fiercely ambitious – and feared, with some justification, that if he owned up to his sexuality it would eliminate any chances of promotion.

But there was another more pressing personal reason. His father Albert had died of cancer, and he feared upsetting his mother Betty, who was running the family newsagents and greengrocery in their native Swansea.

Thus it was that Evans played the role of a red-blooded heterosexual who was keen on the opposite sex, though he never went through the pretence of having a girlfriend.

The first public suggestion that Evans was living a lie came in an article in Private Eye in 1993, which said he had been seen ‘canoodling’ with a young man in his ground-floor flat near Victoria in central London. Evans angrily telephoned the editor Ian Hislop to deny the story, but the report was well sourced and there was no retraction or apology.

The following spring, the Commons reduced the age of consent for gays from 21 to 18 (though Evans voted against). It was to be the first of three votes on the age of consent where he voted against equality for gays and lesbians. Brought up on a Swansea council estate, Evans, now 55, worked in his parents’ shop. He joined the Tory Party at the age of 16 when Margaret Thatcher became leader. He studied politics at Swansea University, graduating in 1979, the year she entered Downing Street. He became a councillor in 1985, and leader of the Tory group on West Glamorgan county council five years later.

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Having fought and lost two safe Labour seats in the late 1980s, he stood for the Tories at Ribble Valley in a by-election in the autumn of 1991. Even though he lost, he was reselected as candidate and won the seat at the general election the following year.

An arch Euro-sceptic, he reached the summit of his parliamentary career when Iain Duncan Smith made him shadow Welsh Secretary, with a seat in the shadow cabinet for two years.

In that time he contrived to be absent from the vote allowing civil partnerships, and also managed to miss three votes on gay adoption, though in one vote he opposed the move.

In 2003, when Michael Howard became Tory leader, Evans returned to the back benches. Affable and easygoing, he is a popular figure on both sides of the House. He was a popular choice to be one of the three Deputy Speakers in 2010. He has a good relationship with John Bercow, the Speaker, who is loathed by many Tory MPs: even in private, Evans is loyal to him and knows that he will never rise beyond the deputy’s role.

As shadow Welsh Secretary, Evans contrived to be absent from the vote allowing civil partnerships, and also managed to miss three votes on gay adoption, though in one vote he opposed the move

Enlarge   Regrets: Apart from not having a boyfriend, a major regret for Evans was not being honest with his mother, who died in 2009. 'I loved her very much and wish I had shared it with her,' he says

While Evans, left, (pictured with members of the circus industry in March 2011) talked openly to his friends about his sexuality, there were still no openly gay Tory MPs and he was unwilling to break the mould

For many years, his homosexuality was one of the worst-kept secrets at Westminster. He counted among his friends Paul Burrell, who was Princess Diana’s butler and has a colourful private life.

Evans, who likes a drink, was a regular in the Commons Sport & Social Club, a late-night bar popular with gay Commons researchers. He was often the last to leave, and was always to be found propping up the bar into the early hours at Tory conferences.

While he talked openly to his friends about his sexuality, there were still no openly gay Tory MPs and Evans was unwilling to be the first to break the mould. 

‘He thought if he came out he would be subjected to harsh criticism for his previous voting stance on gay rights,’ says a friend. ‘He had consistently opposed equality for gays, even though we all knew he was gay. He felt trapped by his own actions.’

Coming out: In 2010, an unnamed Labour MP threatened to go public about Evans' sexuality. He then came up with the idea of 'Parliout' - the first lesbian and gay network group to operate within the Palace of Westminster

Evans (pictured with visiting dancers at the House of Commons), who likes a drink, was a regular in the Commons Sport & Social Club, a late-night bar popular with gay Commons researchers

By staying in the closet, it also meant that Evans had to be secretive, and to this day it is a matter of great sadness to him that he has never had a long-term boyfriend.

When, in 2002, Alan Duncan became the first Tory MP to admit to his homosexuality, Evans decided that at the very least he had to alter his whole approach to equality issues.

The following year, he became more active in the fight for equal rights. He voted for the repeal of the totemic Section 28, and in subsequent votes on civil partnerships he voted in favour. 

After going for a drink with his old friend, the former Coronation Street actress Vicky Entwistle – who played Janice Battersby – and talking to fellow Welshman and former rugby union star Gareth Thomas, who is gay, he made up his mind.

Support: With the arrival of David Cameron as leader and his apparent obsession with pushing same-sex marriage into law, it is now a plus to be gay in the Conservative Party

He went to see Stonewall, the gay rights organisation, for advice. He recalled: ‘I thought this is daft. I’m not going to live a lie any more. With my background in South Wales I wasn’t just the only Tory in the village, it felt like I was the only gay, too.’

In October 2010, his hand was forced when an unnamed Labour MP threatened to go public about his sexuality. It was Evans who came up with the idea of ‘Parliout’ – the first lesbian and gay network group to operate within the Palace of Westminster. He hosted a reception at the Speaker’s official residence to mark the event, where he made a moving speech looking back on his battle to come out of the closet.

‘Growing up in the 1960s, it just wasn’t done,’ he said. ‘There were just as many gay politicians as there are now, but none of them was out. I realised I was gay when I was about 12 or 13, though at the time I wished I wasn’t.’

Asked why he hadn’t come out sooner, he once said: ‘I was going through denial. Of course, I was completely wrong.’

One other big regret, apart from not having a boyfriend he could take home to his constituency, was not being honest with his mother, who died in 2009. ‘I loved her very much and wish I had shared it with her,’ he says. 

Evans was heartened at the weekend by a message of support from Tory MPs, as well as John Bercow. Ironically, with the arrival of David Cameron as leader and his apparent obsession with pushing same-sex marriage into law, it is now a plus to be gay in the Conservative Party.

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