Tolerance of Homosexuality in Britain?

Wikipedia says cottaging is a British gay slang term referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory, or cruising for sexual partners with the intention of having sex elsewhere.

In 1953 the newly knighted actor Sir John Gielgud ( 1904 - 2000) was arrested and fined £10 for "cottaging". His brilliance on the stage meant that he got a standing ovation his first performance after the arrest. He would avoid Hollywood for over a decade for fear of being denied entry because of the arrest.

Liberace (1919 – 1987) who in the 1950's was one of the highest paid entertainers in the world. In 1956, an article in The Daily Mirror said he was "luminous, quivering, giggling, fruit-flavoured, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love," . Liberace sued, partly on the basis of the term "fruit-flavoured", which was held to impute homosexuality. The fact that he would receive thousands of dollars in damages seems almost comical half a century later.

Quentin Crisp (1908 – 1999), Ian McKellen (b 1939), and Elton John (b 1947) are three of the better known British gay performers of an older generation.

I have always felt that the British (especially among the upper class) has always had more tolerance for homosexuality than Americans.

But I was resoundingly corrected by someone who felt very strongly that there was no real differences between the cultures.

It's hard to say, not knowing British culture and history well. However, how many gay actors and entertainers were quietly, let's say overlooked, in Hollywood? Liberace, Rock Hudson, certainly others.

Not a clue... never been upper class and never lived in the US. I suspect there's more tolerance for eccentric people in the UK, but the your average gay man still might get beating if he's in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong crowd.