News


Equalities minister Nicky Morgan reverses stance on same-sex marriage

31st October, 2014

Nicky Morgan has announced that she now supports gay marriage, despite being one of 161 MPs to oppose same-sex marriage legislation in May 2013.  She conceded that she had changed her mind on her position and now ‘probably would’ vote in favour of the legislation if a vote was held today, stating that she supports ‘anybody who enters into a commitment’.

She was appointed to her current position by David Cameron in a party reshuffle last July, leading some people to question her commitment after she voted against the proposal.

However, she said that her original stance had been heavily influenced by strong opposition among her Loughborough constituents, with 10-to-one asking her to oppose it.

In an interview with the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, she said: “We’re all Members of Parliament, we’re here to represent, to listen, to change minds.

“But I had a lot of constituents who asked me to vote in a particular way and I listened to them and it was an issue of conscience too.  But I have certainly learned an awful lot doing this job.”

Ms Morgan is now launching a £2m fund to help tackle homophobic bullying in schools.

When asked about whether she’d vote differently today, she said: “At the end of the day as a Member of Parliament I am obviously here to represent my constituents.  I had a request of 10-to-one in favour of me to vote against it.

“I wish that people had come forward earlier to say that ‘Actually, we’d like you to support it.’  I suppose for some people it was, perhaps, obvious but I think it was something we needed to discuss and debate.”

Despite the opposition, the legislation was passed by parliament in July 2013 and came into force on 13 March 2014.

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