A Lib Dem sing-along already sounds like a nightmare. But they turned it into something truly horrific.

Keeping up with the times, the Liberal Democrats held their annual group singalong or ‘Glee Club’ at the party conference in Brighton on Sunday 17 September.
And as if the idea of a Lib Dem Glee Club wasn’t questionable enough, someone decided to add insult to injury by getting a room full of party members to sing a song celebrating a spectacularly homophobic campaign.
Lost in the past
The song in question is a celebration of the Lib Dems’ win against Labour in the infamous 1983 Bermondsey by-election.
In the run-up to the election, the Lib Dems (then called the Liberals) used dog-whistle homophobia to smear Labour candidate Peter Tatchell. Writing in Pink News, Tatchell said:
They published leaflets which stated there was a “straight choice” between myself and [Liberal candidate] Simon Hughes.
Tatchell, a committed LGBTQ+ rights campaigner, has described the treatment he received during the campaign as “the most sustained homophobic vilification of any public figure since Oscar Wilde.”
But that didn’t stop the Lib Dems celebrating the win 35 years later:
Read on...
Simon Hughes just led a rousing chorus of this 1983 song about Bermondsey. Hmmm anything missing from this account of history? ? pic.twitter.com/zxWuhmiOaD
— Dan Bloom (@danbloom1) September 17, 2018
The song, entitled ‘Bermondsey’, is set to the tune of US Civil War era anthem Marching Through Georgia.
And it contains the lyrics “Tatchell hit the headlines, boys” and “Tatchell went, and Tilley came and said that he was straight”.
Delighted to see a Lib Dem conference event including a song celebrating the infamously, repulsively homophobic campaign in Bermondsey in 1983. Jolly good. https://t.co/ZWFE6v3y4R
— James B (@piercepenniless) September 18, 2018
also the actual lyrics are a fucking embarrassing load of bollocks, imagine singing that
— Owen Jones? (@OwenJones84) September 18, 2018
False apologies
Although high-ranking Lib Dems apparently took little issue with the campaign for decades, 23 years after the by-election the Lib Dem candidate who won the London seat, Simon Hughes, issued an apology:
It was unacceptable, and I hope that there will never be that sort of campaign again.
Hughes, who later came out as bisexual, was reportedly in the crowd on Sunday night in Brighton, apparently singing along to the song.
When asked for a response to this year’s Glee Club incident, Hughes told the Mirror that it was:
A song sung every year for many years with no previous expressed concerns.
It’s a song not a political history.
360-degree irony
The Lib Dem Glee Club also decided to include a song taking aim at former party leader Tim Farron for his ‘traditionalist’ views on gay sex:
Super brutal add to the Lib Dem songbook this year about ex-leader Tim Farron. Going to be an awkward sing-song tomorrow night. #brighton #LibDems #LDconf pic.twitter.com/mQbwW2UeNS
— Kate Proctor (@KateProctorES) September 16, 2018
The tune condemning Farron for his perceived homophobia includes the verse:
A Christian can’t become PM,
Except for, you know, all of them,
Please feel sorry for poor Tim.
So when I flounced off in a huff,
But won’t shut up about this stuff
At least I’m not a puff,
That’s a sin.
Not so liberal liberalism
The light-hearted liberalism of the Lib Dems’ lyrics quickly falls to pieces under close scrutiny.
Whether it’s celebrating a homophobic campaign or laughing at the expense of former MP Charles Kennedy’s alcoholism (of which he died), its annual Glee Club is little more than offensive, out-dated bullying.
Sadly, many have come to expect such disgraceful behaviour from a party responsible for inflicting crippling austerity. Maybe punching down is just the Lib Dems’ way.
Get Involved!
– Support The Canary if you appreciate the work we do.
Featured image via Mata Duveen – Youtube, Colin – Wikimedia Commons, and Liberals Democrats – Wikimedia Commons
We need your help to keep speaking the truth
Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.
Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.
We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.
In return, you get:
* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop
Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.
With your help we can continue:
* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do
We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?