Explainer: The story behind the “Never kissed a Tory” slogan
British politics comes with its quirks and oddities, and one of them is the spat about the “Never kissed a Tory” motto. For some, it’s tribal politics; for others, it’s a fun joke.
For Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, it is probably the second option. When he decided to post a picture wearing a “Never kissed a Tory” badge to mark Pride, he likely didn’t think it was going to offend anyone. But it quickly backfired, with the Tory Shadow Minister for Equalities Altaf Hussain asking him to apologise.
The motto is more than a decade old, and it was Labour (obviously) who came up with it. It quickly became a staple of Pride celebrations. If you look on the e-commerce website Etsy, you can find the slogan printed on posters, t-shirts, mugs and tote bags.
It was always intended as a joke rather than a matter-of-fact statement. At the time, LGBT Labour co-chair Katie Hanson confirmed it was always “more of an aspiration”. “It does not have to be true for you to buy the T-shirt!”, she joked.
Not everyone in the Labour Party loves the slogan, though. Keir Starmer said last year that he had indeed kissed a Tory and that he wasn’t ashamed of it. “I’m not tribal”, he said, adding he has “very good friends who are Tories”. His revelation had clear “Proud Centrist Dad” vibes.
But why is the statement so divisive? And should it be, really? Many Tories don’t find it funny, arguing it creates an “us versus them” narrative. Politics has been very polarising recently, and the line between finding it funny and offensive can become thin.
Arguably, it does play into the idea that Labour voters are made one way and Conservatives are another. It’s not so far from asking whether Pret is Tory and Gregs is Labour – the so-called “vibes politics” that’s perhaps a bit too simplistic to be a lens for our times.
Politics is full of power couples, and not all of them are made up of people who work for the same party. “Never kissed a Tory” in the end is nothing more than a fun line, part of what should be light and joyful about the Pride celebrations especially. It’s no biggie.
But perhaps it would be constructive, once in a while, to also highlight where there’s space for collaboration and debate between different political views. Many important policy ideas, after all, have stemmed from very different people coming together to find solutions. You’re not obliged to kiss them, after all.