Party to host its first gay pride event at Manchester conference in October

This article is more than 11 years old

This article is more than 11 years old

The Conservatives will promote a gay-friendly logo at their annual conference this autumn in a bid to attract new voters.

The rainbow symbol – widely used to signify pride in the gay community – has been co-opted by the Tories in a makeover of the party's green and blue tree emblem.

The multicoloured version will be used to signify the party as a "broad church" when it hosts its first gay pride event at the annual Tory conference, taking place in Manchester in October.

Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of the gay rights lobby group Stonewall, has been invited to give an address as David Cameron seeks to shed the party's old image and present it as more tolerant and inclusive.

The Tory leader used an interview in the gay press in the run-up to last month's London gay pride event to apologise for section 28, the notorious legislation, brought in by the Thatcher government, which banned the "promotion" of homosexuality in schools.

Cameron voted against the repeal of section 28 as recently as 2003, when it was taken off the statute books.

Three years later, in his first speech as party leader, he sought to adopt a new stance when he hailed the introduction of civil partnerships.

In October, the Conservatives will invite conference delegates to celebrate gay pride.

More than 700 are expected to attend a £15-a-head event at the Spirit Bar in Canal Street – the centre of Manchester's gay scene – which will have "surprise special guests" and a speech from an as yet unidentified senior shadow cabinet member.