It’s Vauxhall Question Time with the constituency’s parliamentary candidates at the RVT on April 23 2015. Left to right: host Stewart Who?, Labour’s Kate Hoey MP, Liberal Democrat Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett, Conservative James Bellis, the Greens’ Gulnar Hasnain, organiser David Robson (Image David Robson/Twitter)
Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey last night (April 23 2015) led a cross-party call for the new owners of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern to end the uncertainty over the future of London’s oldest LGBTQ venue.
Hoey was speaking during an election hustings event on LGBTQ issues held at the Tavern itself.
The Labour MP’s views were echoed by the constituency’s Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green candidates. All were taking part in the event on the RVT stage, called It’s Vauxhall Question Time.
“It is loved by everyone,” Hoey said of the pub. “To be quite honest, I cannot visualise Vauxhall without the Vauxhall Tavern.”
The discussion came following last week’s protests over the shock closure of iconic Camden LGBTQ venue the Black Cap and the launch of RVT Future, a group aiming to ensure the Tavern’s future as a site of LGBTQ socialising and performance.
Austrian property-development company Immovate bought the venue last year but has repeatedly declined to say whether it values the Tavern’s seven-decade heritage as a place of LGBTQ socialising and performance. Nor has it committed to maintaining the site as such.
Kate Hoey MP holds open a book about local history at a section about the Tavern at It’s Vauxhall Question Time, RVT April 23 2015
“We should demand to be able to see the owners and get that assurance,” Hoey said. “I certainly am committed to making sure that this stays to be seen as the heart of the gay and lesbian community.”
Hoey, who has been Vauxhall’s MP since 1989, also noted the Tavern’s importance to the local community regardless of sexuality. “Lots of people come in here who just love being here and the atmosphere in here,” she said.
She praised Lambeth council’s decision to award the pub asset of community value (ACV) status but noted “that doesn’t save it” and called on her fellow candidates to join her in demanding reassurance from the owners.
The Conservative candidate James Bellis agreed, calling for engagement between Immovate and the community.
“It’s important the owners and the people who use the RVT should work together on this and [that] the owners are open to that,” Bellis said.
“It is important that everyone works together to make sure the RVT stays a vibrant venue,” he said, affirming he was “absolutely very happy to support the RVT and would love to see its continued success”.
Noting that “I use the LGBT venues in Vauxhall myself,” Bellis called it “very sad” that “another great institution in Vauxhall,” the nearby Paris Gym, has just announced its closure after 19 years.
As well as stressing the importance of RVT supporters coming to use the venue because “it needs to stay profitable”, Bellis joined Hoey in praising Lambeth council’s award of ACV status.
“We saw with the Black Cap that’s not necessarily enough [to keep a venue open] but I think it’s a good first step,” he said.
Bellis also suggested concerned members of the public should get involved with the Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall Forum neighbourhood consultation group “to make sure that we all work together as a community to see that planning works hand in hand with making sure we still have a vibrant gay community here in Vauxhall”.
It’s Vauxhall Question Time, RVT, April 23 2015 (Image Debbieann Donovan/Twitter)
Liberal Democrat candidate Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett affirmed the need for cross-party action “if there’s any issue that puts a threat to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern”.
The Tavern, he said, “is a historic LGBTQ and straight-ally venue and we all want to ensure it remains here and remains prosperous and looking after the community – a place for people to come to to feel safe and secure in their lives.”
He added: “It’s imperative that we keep this venue open, free and looking after everyone that uses it. So you have my guarantee on that.”
Hyyrylainen-Trett also said it was “imperative for the LGBTQ community that all our venues around London remain and are really vibrant places,” especially now that the Black Cap has “sadly been closed down”.
The Green Party candidate Gulnar Hasnain said: “I would absolutely support protecting these venues” which are part of “the fabric and the essence of communities”.
Hasnain referred to the Greens’ track record of “fighting developers” and “protecting our small businesses,” including at Brixton Arches (where a symbolic shutdown is planned this Saturday, April 25 2015, to protest the scheduled eviction of small local businesses).
She said she “absolutely would be committed and fight and work with other candidates and groups to maintain that these spaces are open”.
Hasnain said the underlying issue is about “getting the council to be bold and brave and stand up and not just let big corporates, big chains come in and just change our spaces here”.
It’s Vauxhall Question Time was organised by David Robson, chair of Wandsworth LGBT Forum, and hosted by writer and DJ Stewart Who?
UKIP candidate Ace Nnorom was invited to participate but didn’t attend.
The event also featured questions about sex education in schools, immigration, home ownership and HIV prevention among other subjects.
During and after the event, #itsvauxhallqt became a trending hashtag on Twitter. A reporter from Radio 4’s Today programme was present covering the discussion.
Full disclosure: I am a member of RVT Future.
