Mandelson: A Homosexual History - Episode Two

Mandelson: A Homosexual History - Episode Two

From Bad Gays by Huw Lemmey & Ben Miller

May 6, 2026 · 1h 3m · Season 10 · Episode 137

About this episode

This episode discusses Mandelson's political evolution and the socio-political climate of late-Eighties Britain during the 1987 General Election.

Subscribe on Patreon to hear Episode Three now, get our monthly Extra Bad Gays episodes, and stay a week ahead on the miniseries. Last week we looked at Mandelson’s early years, and his move from a flirtation with Marxism to being firmly on the right of the Labour Party. We also discussed the left-right split in the Labour Party, and how, in the 1980s, that became a full blown civil war. This week, it's time for the 1987 General Election, and for the paranoid homophobia of late-Eighties Britain: section 28, sleaze, AIDS panic, and tabloid hell.

People in this episode

Hosts: Huw Lemmey, Ben Miller

Topics covered

  • Mandelson's political journey
  • Labour Party history
  • 1987 General Election
  • homophobia in the 1980s
  • section 28
  • AIDS crisis
  • tabloid media

Keywords

  • Mandelson
  • Labour Party
  • 1987 General Election
  • homophobia
  • section 28
  • AIDS panic
  • tabloids

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labour Party

Places: Britain

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