Quote of the day

"Should black people be cabinet ministers? If any national newspaper asked this question there would be protests. Riots, even. Yet today, in light of the David Laws exposé, the Sun saw fit to commission a YouGov survey in which it asked: 'Should gay people be cabinet ministers?'

But by asking, the tabloid has exposed something else, something important and something its editor and that of all rightwing newspapers should take note of. There is now a yawning chasm between the press and the public in their attitudes towards homosexuality.

Of those asked, 95% replied that they either didn't mind if a gay person was a cabinet minister, didn't know, or thought it was a good thing. A measly 5% thought gay people should not hold such office. As pro-gay as the public have become, the conservative press hasn't noticed."

The Guardian's Patrick Strudwick reports on the Sun's spectacular own goal and on the wider disconnection between papers and the public.

(Thanks to Matt for the link.)