经济学人297:同性恋投票 公之于众

 　　The gay vote

　　同性恋投票

　　Coming out

　　公之于众

　　The Conservative Party is winning over some gay voters

　　保守党争取到一些同性恋的投票

　　True pink

　　纯粉色

　　WHEN the Conservative prime minister, David Cameron, decided¹ to champion same-sex marriage in 2011, many of his backbenchers were horrified². The pledge was not in his manifesto³; the softer aspects of his election campaign were more focused on green issues and helping⁴ wayward youths than on gay rights. When, in 2014, the act passed into law, 133 Conservatives voted against it and many disgruntled activists⁵ left the party. But, as he seeks re-election, Mr Cameron's gamble may gradually be paying off.

　　2011年，保守党人戴维·卡梅伦首相决定声援同性婚姻，震惊后座议员一片。他在竞选宣言中并没有承诺于此，且在竞选活动中宣传的主要是环保问题、叛逆青年的引导等相对温和的问题，而不是同性恋的权利。2014年，维护同性恋结婚权利的法案纳入英国法律，对此，133名保守党成员纷纷投票表示反对，更有激进者，因心怀不满退出保守党。然而，如今在卡梅伦努力追求连任时，其之前的冒险可能会渐现成效。

　　同性恋投票.jpg

　　Around 6% of the British population are estimated to be gay. But little definitive⁶ statistical⁷ evidence exists on how they vote, says Joe Twyman, of YouGov, a pollster. Generally, he says, they tend to be slightly less fond of the Conservatives than is the population as a whole, and slightly more likely to support Labour or the bedraggled Liberal Democrats⁸. In a YouGov poll of gay, lesbian and bisexual people last year, two-thirds of those asked said that they would not vote for an MP who had voted against same-sex marriage (the other third said they would). But it is not their biggest concern: like the broader population, the economy and health care are the most pressing issues, says Mr Twyman.

　　据估计，英国同性恋人口约占6%。但民治调查公司专家乔·特乌曼表示，并没有确切的统计数据显示这一群体的投票方式。他认为，一般情况下，同性恋人群支持保守党的意向略低于英国人整体的意向，而支持工党或衰败的自由民主党的可能性略大。民治公司去年对男女同性恋、双性恋人群进行了调查，调查显示：2/3的参与者表示不会把票投给曾经投票反对同性婚姻的议员（1/3的参与者表示会投给这些议员）。但特乌曼专家表示，这不是这一人群最担心的事情，像人口分布扩大，经济发展以及医疗服务才是最紧迫的问题。

　　Yet the passing of the same-sex marriage act seems to have given David Cameron and some members of his party, such as the gay-friendlyLondonmayor Boris Johnson (pictured), a boost. “It made me less anti-Tory,” admits Tom Chinnery, a 32-year-old from Manchesterwho married his husband six weeks ago. Mr Chinnery was struck by Mr Cameron “standing up” to more traditional party members. His disagreement with the Tories is now restricted to their policies on Europe and the economy. This may help the Conservatives: a self-selected poll of 986 people from PinkNews, a website, in April found that 26% would consider voting for the Conservatives, up from 21% in 2010.

　　话虽如此，同性婚姻法案纳入法律对卡梅伦以及乐意接受同性恋的伦敦市长鲍里斯·约翰逊（如图）等党内部分成员来说似乎是一大鼓励。32岁的汤姆·钦纳里是曼彻斯特人，6周前和丈夫结婚。卡梅伦顶住多数保守党人压力的表现触动了钦纳里，他承认道：“因为这个，我对保守党的反对没那么强烈了。”粉红社网在四月份对986名同性恋人士进行了选项调查，结果发现，26%的人会考虑把票投给保守党，与2010年的21%相比有所增加。这对保守党来说也许有益。

　　The change in the law also made those who had previously⁹ voted for the party feel more confident to continue doing so, argues Margot James, the Conservative MP for Stourbridge, who is gay. The passing of the act, along with more funds for tackling homophobic bullying¹⁰ in schools, “redressed the balance with Labour”, she says. Differences between the two parties over questions of gay rights and equality have become less marked as a result.

　　保守党驻斯陶尔布里奇选区议员玛格特·詹姆斯是同性恋，她认为：法律上的变动让之前投票支持保守党的人坚定了继续支持该党的信心，法案入法，不仅增加了学校处理同性恋遭欺辱事件的资金支持，而且重新调整了与工党之间的平衡关系。同时，两党质疑同性恋权利与平等的程度差异也因此有所减少。

　　But perhaps the biggest boost for the party is yet to come. After the same-sex marriage vote, Philip Cowley, a psephologist¹¹ at the University of Nottingham, worked out that 58% of Conservative MPs born after 1970 voted for it, in contrast to 45% of those born before that year. Younger people are more likely to be socially liberal and to support same-sex marriage. Undecided future voters are less likely to see the Conservatives as the nasty party on gay issues. And gay people who might once have been furtive¹² in voting for them can now be bolder about their choice. After all, for some, coming out as a Conservative may once have been as hard as coming out as gay.

　　诺丁汉大学选举学家菲利普·克劳利在分析同性恋婚姻的投票结果之后发现，58%的70后保守党议员投票支持，而与之相比，45%的70前议员投票支持。相对年轻的人群更易接受开放的社会，支持同性婚姻。未来选民还未确定，但极有可能不愿看到保守党在同性恋问题上让其不快。以前，同性恋人群投票支持保守党还要遮遮掩掩，但是现在，他们可以大胆地作出选择。毕竟，对于有些人来说，代表保守党崭露头角曾经也是如同性恋出柜一般艰难。

　　1.focus on 关注

　　例句:Another is the focus on long-term fiscal¹³ sustainability.

　　另一个是关注长期财政可持续性。

　　2.likely to 可能

　　例句:Other banks are likely to face similar pressure.

　　其他银行很可能面临着类似的压力。

　　3.health care 卫生保健

　　例句:We need to find innovative¹⁴ ways of managing health care.

　　我们需要在管理医疗保健方面找到创新型途径。

　　4.seem to 似乎

　　例句:Investors¹⁵ seem to have noticed.

　　投资者似乎也注意到了。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

3 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

7 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 psephologist   

n.[法] 选举学家

参考例句：

12 furtive   

adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的

参考例句：

• The teacher was suspicious of the student's furtive behaviour during the exam.老师怀疑这个学生在考试时有偷偷摸摸的行为。
• His furtive behaviour aroused our suspicion.他鬼鬼祟祟的行为引起了我们的怀疑。

13 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

14 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会