Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative mayoral candidate, has said he is “torn” on whether to back compulsory sex education for all London schools.
He said he is struggling with the issue because he is a strong supporter of free schools, which are independent and so not obliged to teach the subject.
In an interview with PinkNews, Mr Goldsmith said that even though there are some communities in London with views on homosexuality that “are not as mainstream or as accepting as the majority”, he could not commit to backing mandatory sex education which would teach all children it is acceptable to be gay.
He said that religious views should be between individuals and God, adding: “I don’t think it’s for you or me or law to interfere and regulate that set of beliefs, but where your beliefs begin to have an impact on wider society, it’s a different matter.”
He added he wants to be a “pansexual” mayor, saying: “I want to be … I would use the term pansexual here, if my understanding is correct. The Mayor for all of London. London is a beautiful, big, diverse city and needs a Mayor that can speak for everyone.”
Asked to define the term “pansexual”, Mr Goldsmith said it is “someone who loves the world, surely? Is that right?”
He said of sex education: “I struggle with this issue. I struggle with it because on the one level, I want the outcome that good-quality sex and relationship education provides, but on another level, I’m very, very strongly supportive of the Government’s free schools agenda, which allows parents to set the ethos and the direction of schools.
"I think it’s the right policy. I backed it very strongly in Parliament, I backed it very strongly in my constituency.”
He added: “I’m torn on the issue about mandating what schools would do because for me it goes against the grain, and it’s something that I think the Mayor working with local authorities should be able to identify and target areas and schools where that approach doesn’t work — as opposed to having a one size fits all approach.”
Asked who his gay icon is, he said: “Kylie Minogue, you can’t go wrong with that.”
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