`Attitudes have changed,' says the first woman minister to come out

Angela Eagle, a junior environment minister and MP for Wallasey, has become the first senior politician to come out as a lesbian.

In an exclusive interview with The Independent she said: "I have a long- term and very happy relationship ... I happen to be with a woman."

As the first woman politician at this level to come out as gay, Ms Eagle felt that the time was right to be open about her relationship. She has received, she says, huge support both from her family and the leadership of the Labour party "To be honest I didn't expect anything else. Attitudes have changed ... I think people are a lot more sensible than we sometimes give them credit for".

"I think I've only been able to cope with that because I have a very understanding family. My sister [Maria Eagle is Angela's twin and also an MP], my brother and my father, all of whom are heterosexual, have just always supported me."

When she was elected in 1992, Ms Eagle was the youngest member of the House and she and Maria are often mistaken for each other.

Her decision to come out now is for two reasons; to deal with it herself and "to get a handle on this job and make sure that I can do it properly. Now I am at the stage where I need to get things sorted so I can just concentrate on my work".

Seen by all her colleagues as an extremely hard-working and talented politician, at 36 already holding ministerial office, she talked about the pressures on MPs trying to maintain a balance between work and their personal lives. "Should politicians be human beings? I say yes we should be. I'd rather be governed by human beings than perfect cardboard cut- outs".

Having always supported gay rights, Ms Eagle has no desire to become solely a spokeswoman for gay causes, expressing the view that her sexuality is just one aspect of "What I'm about ...".

Nor does she have any wish to drag her girlfriend to official engagements. "My partner is actually very busy with her own life," she says.

While other MPs are doubtless watching the reaction in order to judge whether they should be similarly honest, Ms Eagle says she has no idea about which other of the new intake of women MPs may also be gay "I can't even put all the names to faces yet, let alone speculate about their sexuality".

She doesn't feel that coming out will be in any way a bar to promotion within the party. "I get no sense of that at all," she says, and she has decided that "the best option now is to just be open about it". She has, she says, been lucky in having in having a wonderfully supportive family. Coming out, she hopes, will mean that she is under less personal strain and can now just concentrate on getting on with the job she loves.

Interview, page 14