PREJUDICE and discrimination are never far away – even in today’s perceivably tolerant society, a former leader of Swindon Borough Council has warned.

As thousands of people from across the county descend on Old Town to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Swindon and Wiltshire Pride today, former council leader Rod Bluh has spoken of the importance of celebrating a diverse community, as attitudes can very easily change.

Mr Bluh served as the Conservative leader of the council between 2006 and 2013, becoming the borough’s first openly gay man to hold office. Having married young it wasn’t until 2001 that he finally accepted his own sexuality and came out, making the conscious decision to be completely open when running for election.

While he says he had a very “positive experience” of his time at the helm of the administration, he explained that attitudes towards sexuality may not be as forward thinking as society might like to think they were.

“Did I start to think about the issue of running for council? Obviously I did," he said. "But I thought if I was going to do any sort of role there was no point in being anything other than completely open.

“Once elected I didn’t need to be any other way or apologise for it. I was never aware of any problem. Sometimes you might speak to people and find their body language may suggest that there may be an issue, but nothing verbal was ever said. I found it far easier than I ever thought it would be, so in that sense it was very positive.

“I grew up in the 60s and 70s when it wasn’t so accepted. I do think attitudes in those day would have played on one’s mind, it definitely wasn’t something you would have talked about to anyone.”

Despite society coming on leaps and bounds since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in July 1967, Mr Bluh warned that communities should not be complacent.

“Prejudice and discrimination are never very far away – whatever the topic – whether it is race, or sexuality, it is always bubbling under the surface,” he said. “Some attitudes have changed, but not all of them.

“Everything in life tends to go around in circles. Just because it is okay today, it doesn’t mean that it will be tomorrow. We are seeing around the world that attitudes are changing.”

As a regular attendee of Swindon and Wiltshire Pride he praised the direction the event had taken over the years. “I think in the early days it was more fighting for a cause and recognition. Now it is about people coming together to celebrate diversity, and I think so much the better. It’s about integration and fighting separation.”