Tag Archives: equal marriage

Opinion: Lib Dem MPs: Vote for equality, human rights and love today

By Adrian Trett | Mon 20th May 2013 - 12:58 pm

The culmination of more than three years of heartfelt campaigning by the LGBT+ Lib Dems finally comes to the final hurdle in the House of Commons battle for equal marriage this week, with votes today and tomorrow.

It will sadly see the ultimate opportunity for those MPs who remain implacably behind the times in opposition to equality and fairness in the United Kingdom to block progress. It is also the opportunity for the sun to shine on those MPs who vote in favour of equality, fairness, human rights, respect and love. LGBT+ people want to celebrate and share their love just …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged lgbt+ lib dems and same sex marriage bill | 32 Comments

Stephen Gilbert MP writes… Equal marriage is now a litmus test for Cameron

By Stephen Gilbert | Mon 20th May 2013 - 11:56 am

May has been a good month for equal marriage. Minnesota became the 12th American State, plus DC, to allow same-sex couples to marry and France became the 9th country in Europe (the 14th around the world) to introduce this landmark change. Millions of gay and lesbian people are now able to marry the person they love.

This week, in Britain, the debate returns to the House of Commons. I have no doubt that a significant majority of MPs are in …

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Posted in Op-eds | 14 Comments

Opinion: The same sex marriage bill is not perfect, but Lib Dem MPs should get behind it

By Ed Fordham | Thu 16th May 2013 - 11:22 am

In the next week it is likely that The Marriage (Same Sex) Bill will pass it’s third reading in the House of Commons and then will go up to the House of Lords. This is without hesitation good news for Liberal Democrats – a key part of the fight for equality will move forwards, it’s party policy and something that many members, individuals, charities and support groups have been pushing for.

The debate has been loud, full and genuine and sincere – the first debate in the House of Commons was emotional, real and heartfelt as members on all sides of …

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Posted in Op-eds | 26 Comments

Liberal Democrat MPs to be given free vote on all aspects of Same Sex Marriage Bill

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 7:27 pm

Rumours reach my ears of a surprise decision at last night’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Meeting. The Same Sex Marriage Bill comes back to the Commons next Monday for two days of debate on a number of amendments.

At Second Reading in February, no votes were whipped. Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael stepped out of the shadows to explain why to Lib Dem Voice readers.

The view of my parliamentary colleagues that came up time and again was that they supported equal marriage and were keen to see it on the statute book. They wanted, in fact, not just to support the

…

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged featured, same sex marriage and same sex marriage bill | 26 Comments

New Zealand Parliament rejoices at passing of same sex marriage bill

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 17th April 2013 - 7:30 pm

Something made me cry today, and it involved a bunch of politicians in what is normally a solemn ritual.

It took place in the New Zealand Parliament when MPs voted in favour of same sex marriage. In the House of Commons, you might, if you’re lucky, get some order papers waved. Having said that, I hear tales of The Land and Lloyd George knew my father being sung in the Lords voting lobby by certain of our peers late one night.

Anyway, look at this place – real warm celebrations. Hugs, kisses, flowers and the spontaneous rendition of a Maori …

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Also tagged conference, conference accreditation and new zealand | 4 Comments

URGENT: Less than 6 hours to respond to Scottish Government’s Equal Marriage consultation

By Adrian Trett | Wed 20th March 2013 - 11:23 am

We need your help to deliver another Lib Dem win in the Scottish Parliament. We’re on a tight deadline – we need you to act before 5 pm today.

The Liberal Democrats were the first party to support gay rights in a General Election manifesto. For decades, we’ve always been there for equality. The Scottish Liberal Democrats led on equal marriage, before the Federal Party became the first major national party to support the policy.

The Scottish Government are consulting on the details of implementing equal marriage, for a Bill later this year. You can help ensure that the Bill is liberal, well thought out and promotes equality …

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Posted in News | Also tagged government consultations and Scotland | 1 Comment

Mike Thornton in favour of equal marriage

By Helen Duffett | Wed 13th February 2013 - 9:51 am

Lib Dem candidate for Eastleigh Mike Thornton responded yesterday to the question of whether he supports equal marriage.

@Beauchamp74 asked Mike, and the Tory and UKIP candidates, for their position:

@mike4eastleigh @mariahutchings @dianeukip none of you have tweeted your position on #equalmarriage. Who’ll be first? @c4equalmarriage

— Thomas (@Beauchamp74) February 12, 2013

Mike replied in favour, which gets @Beauchamp74′s vote:

@mike4eastleigh thanks Mike. That places you head and shoulders above the other candidates. Got my vote. @c4equalmarriage #equalmarriage

— Thomas (@Beauchamp74) February 12, 2013

Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Also tagged eastleigh by-election and mike thornton | 5 Comments

Opinion: Talking at cross purposes about equal marriage

By Joe Otten | Sat 9th February 2013 - 4:33 pm

While it is tempting to be triumphal at success of the vote on equal marriage, I have some sympathy for some of the opponents. Not for the bigots of course – but while all bigots will oppose equal marriage, the converse isn’t true, and some opponents are genuinely unhappy at the idea of parliamentary vote to, as they see it, change the meaning of a word.

Now that may seem to many of us an odd thing to get upset about – although I would be quite unhappy if Parliament attempted to change the value of …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged chocolate and evolution | 145 Comments

Opinion: Does the debate over equal marriage reveal our blind spots?

By James King | Fri 8th February 2013 - 10:20 am

Let me begin by saying that I enthusiastically support equal marriage. The ability of two people who love each other to marry regardless of their gender is a blessing, Tuesday’s vote was a victory for liberalism, and despite its flaws the Bill is a big step forward to a fairer society. I found the explanations made by those Lib Dem MPs who opposed the bill to be intellectually unconvincing, sometimes evasive, and fundamentally illiberal.

And yet, I was slightly perturbed by the number of people – and a party organisation – discussing whether to refuse to campaign for the ‘rebels’. …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged equalities | 58 Comments

Greg Mulholland explains his abstention on equal marriage bill

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 6th February 2013 - 4:50 pm

Greg Mulholland, Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West, has put a lengthy statement on his website explaining why he abstained during last night’s vote on the Marriage (Same sex couples) Bill. He did not want to vote against as he supports equality, but he does not feel that the Bill, as currently drafted, delivers that.

He said:

I do agree unequivocally that all adults must be treated equally in terms of legal recognition of their relationship and the rights that they convey; the question is how best to deliver that at the same time as protecting freedom of conscience. These are

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged greg mulholland | 4 Comments

LibLink – Lucy Care: Gay marriage struggle for equal rights is a Quaker one too

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 6th February 2013 - 4:24 pm

Lucy Care, a member of the Federal Policy Committee from Derby and regular contributor to Liberal Democrat Voice, has written an interesting piece for the Independent on the Quakers’ involvement in the fight for LGBT equality.

She recalls a gay man talking to a Young Quaker workshop when she was in her teens and how this affected her:

He described his search for love and finding his ‘Mr Right’. He talked about his joy and loving commitment towards the man with whom he hoped to spend the rest of his life. The emotions which he described seemed to me then – and

…

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged lucy care, quakers and the independent | 1 Comment

Jenny Willott MP “thrilled” at equal marriage vote

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 6th February 2013 - 12:41 pm

Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, has confirmed in a statement on her website that she would have voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill had she been able to be in Parliament yesterday. She is currently on maternity leave.

She said:

I am currently on maternity leave so was unable to vote yesterday, but I feel that it is important for my constituents to know how I would have voted, given the significance of this legislation. Equal marriage is central to the Liberal Democrat belief in a fair, free and open society, and I would

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged jenny willott | 5 Comments

Equal marriage: who voted which way

By Stephen Tall | Wed 6th February 2013 - 9:15 am

For those wanting to know the voting breakdown of last night’s historic decision in the Commons to approve equal marriage, here it is courtesy of Andrew Sparrow’s essential Guardian live-blog…

Conservatives

FOR – 127 MPs (42%)
AGAINST – 136 MPs (45%)
ABSTENTIONS – 5 MPs (2%)
ABSENT – 35 MPs (12%)

Labour

FOR – 217 MPs (84%)
AGAINST – 22 MPs (9%)
ABSTENTION – 16 MPs (6%)

Lib Dems

FOR – 45 MPs (80%)
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey), Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington), Annette Brooke (Dorset Mid & Poole North), Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane), Malcolm Bruce (Gordon), Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam), Lorely Burt (Solihull), Vincent …

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Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged andrew sparrow, lynne featherstone, Mark Pack and nick clegg | 49 Comments

Equal marriage: the speeches of Stephen Gilbert, Stephen Williams and Simon Hughes

By The Voice | Wed 6th February 2013 - 8:45 am

Last night saw the House of Commons approve the second reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. Three Lib Dem MPs spoke, and here are their contributions to that historic debate…

Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD):

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins), who has articulated what many people of faith across our country have struggled with before coming to the conclusion that love should be for one and all and that marriage should not be an exclusive institution.

I declare an interest:

…

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Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged simon hughes, stephen gilbert and stephen williams | 4 Comments

Gilbert and Williams lead Lib Dem speakers in Equal Marriage debate

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 5th February 2013 - 8:52 pm

Stephen Tall has posted the historic result of the Equal Marriage debate, the House of Commons voting by 400 votes to 175 to give the Marriage (Same sex couples) Bill a Second Reading. Most Liberal Democrats supported the Bill, in contrast to the Conservatives. It’s been reported that more than half of them, 139 as against 132, voted against. Subsequently the Programme Motion was passed by 499 votes to 55.

I’ve watched the majority of the 70 or so speeches from the six and a half hour debate. My 13 year old daughter joined me when she came in from school. …

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Posted in News | 35 Comments

Project Cameron RIP: more Tory MPs vote AGAINST than vote for equal marriage

By Stephen Tall | Tue 5th February 2013 - 7:55 pm

David Cameron deserves a lot of credit for the stance he’s taken on equal marriage. But in addition to the principle, there was also calculation: he wanted to project an image of a modern Tory party, at ease with the the society it seeks to represent.

Unfortunately for him he didn’t quite reckon on his party’s entrenched opposition to equality for minorities, with today’s Commons vote splitting his party. In the end, more Tory MPs voted against equal marriage than voted in favour of it:

Sky Sources: estimate of 132 Conservatives have voted for gay marriage, 139 against and 30 abstained #equalmarriage

— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) February 5, 2013

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Posted in News | Also tagged david cameron | 26 Comments

++ The ayes have it! Equal marriage approved with 225 vote majority

By Stephen Tall | Tue 5th February 2013 - 7:18 pm

The BBC reports:

MPs have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the government’s legislation for same-sex marriage in England and Wales. At the conclusion of the Commons’ first opportunity to debate the The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, MPs voted by 400 to 175, a majority of 225, in favour of the legislation.

It’s estimated some 140 Tory MPs voted to reject equal marriage.

Here was my immediate reaction…

Equal marriage passed by 400 votes to 175 – 225 majority in favour of the state treating everyone equally. That’ll do.

— Stephen Tall (@stephentall) February 5, 2013

And here’s what some …

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Posted in News | Also tagged featured and lynne featherstone | 4 Comments

Equal marriage: 2 Lib Dem MPs against and a further 9 (or 10) Missing In Action

By Stephen Tall | Mon 4th February 2013 - 3:55 pm

Tomorrow the House of Commons will vote on the Bill to allow equal marriage for same-sex couples which Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone did so much to push forward as Equalities Minister.

Two Lib Dem MPs have so far publicly declared their opposition:

John Pugh MP (Southport)

“I will vote against the Bill – against Gay Marriage but not necessarily for all the reasons the churches give but because I think there is a good liberal

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged Gordon Birtwhistle, john pugh and lynne featherstone | 167 Comments

Opinion: We feel the handbrake of history on our Liberal reforming.

By Andrew Tennant | Sat 2nd February 2013 - 5:30 pm

I doubt it’s gone unnoticed, but there are rather a lot of Tories in parliament.

Some 306 Tory MPs were elected in May 2010 (47% of the total on 36.1% of the vote), compared to a meagre 57 Lib Dems (only 9%, despite the party actually getting 23.0% of the vote).

And so the Lib Dems in parliament have had quite a battle to achieve their successes so far in government.

First Past the Post is neither a fair, nor a kind system …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged electoral reform | 45 Comments

Opinion: Down with marriage

By Laura Willoughby | Sat 26th January 2013 - 12:00 pm

It’s always the smallest things that seem to end up creating the biggest noise. Take the current debate over marriage: I know it seems like a big issue, but if you really look, it’s a debate about semantics and contracts that’s become complicated by the fact that history is so unclear about its origins.

The Church thinks that marriage is theirs and that therefore they have a right to dictate who gets to do it. I used to be partly persuaded by the fact that marriage was the Church’s brand and that those of …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged marriage and secularism | 13 Comments

Sometimes to win an argument, you need to adopt your opponent’s point of view

By Mark Pack | Wed 2nd January 2013 - 8:50 am

Wedding bouquet Framing, that is the way in which a choice is presented, is often key to winning political (and indeed non-political) debates. Consider the following two statements, for example:

It’s dreadful that the government is letting private companies access more medical data about people.

It’s great that the government is letting medical researchers access more medical data about diseases.

They are both ways you could describe the current government’s actual policy. Whether the issue is framed as being about private companies or medical researchers and whether it is about personal data or information about diseases …

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Posted in Campaign Corner and LDVUSA | 7 Comments

Lynne Featherstone takes on church leaders on equal marriage

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 26th December 2012 - 4:45 pm

Liberal Democrat hero of everything to do with equalities, Lynne Featherstone, has used her blog to take a coach and horses through the arguments that various church leaders have been using this Christmas to attack the Coalition’s plans to introduce equal marriage.

Sometimes MPs’ and Government Ministers’ blogs can become quite bland. This is not the case with Ms Featherstone’s. It’s good that she is quite comfortable with the idea of talking directly. It’s important that someone does. Willie Rennie did exactly the same up here in Scotland …

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Posted in News | Also tagged catholic church, lynne featherstone and willie rennie | 25 Comments

Lynne Featherstone writes… Three Lib Dem policies really stand out for me in 2012

By Lynne Featherstone MP | Sat 22nd December 2012 - 10:50 am

International Development minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest one…

What a year 2012 has been! There are three Lib Dem policies that really stand out for me this year: the Pupil Premium, income tax reductions for low paid and middle income workers and equal marriage.

Before entering Government, the Lib Dems knew there were serious social mobility problems in the UK. Only one in five young people from the poorest families achieve five good GCSEs compared to three out of four from the richest families. Through the …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged income tax, nick clegg, pupil premium and tax cuts (Lib Dem) | 13 Comments

Opinion: Make no apologies for religion on equal marriage

By Olly Hudson | Thu 13th December 2012 - 2:18 pm

If there’s one thing that really irks me about the Tory leadership’s rightful defence of equal marriage, it is this constant, almost apologetic necessity to seek to justify the position by reminding everyone that ‘religious freedoms’ will in no way be encroached upon by this piece of legislation. In his albeit heartfelt endorsement of allowing gay people to enter into “a great institution”, David Cameron was at pains to remind us that any religious groups who oppose the reform will not be forced to hold same-sex marriages.

In a country where the church-going population barely exceeds 10%, it is a …

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Posted in Op-eds | 50 Comments

Opinion: Equal marriage legislation proves that Liberal Democrats have equality in their DNA

By Adrian Trett | Wed 12th December 2012 - 2:06 pm

Equality has always been at the core of our party’s values, and is one of the main reasons why I joined the party in 2006. However, until 2010, Liberal Democrats had not been able to prove to the wider public that we had always been ahead of the curve on sexual equality simply because we hadn’t been in Government for 80 years. In opposition, though, we were adopting policies on these issues way before previous governments had done anything. In many cases governments had only acted because of the threat of

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged lgbt+ lib dems | 3 Comments

Equal marriage: it’s a matter of religious freedom

By Mark Pack | Mon 10th December 2012 - 5:59 pm

There’s been a lot in the media today from opponents of equal marriage about how the state mustn’t go about redefining marriage.

What they keep on skating over is that equal marriage isn’t something cooked up by atheists and agnostics. It’s also - as Lynne Featherstone has pointed out – supported officially by Quakers, Liberal Jews and some Unitarian Churches, not to mention many people of other faiths that officially take a different view.

Insisting that the state continues …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged featured and lynne featherstone | 58 Comments

Stephen Gilbert MP writes… Equal marriage: a step towards a fairer society

By Stephen Gilbert | Sat 8th December 2012 - 12:59 pm

So, there we have it: equal marriage for same-sex couples in the civil law and the chance for religious groups to choose to offer same-sex religious marriage if they want to. It’s another step toward equality in front of the law for the LGBT community. The community has come a long way in the 43 years since the Stonewall riots in New York City.

And the Liberal Democrats have led the way in the UK. We were the first party to commit to a policy of civil partnerships, in a Private Members Bill, and at our conference in 2010 we were …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged featured | 6 Comments

Lynne Featherstone MP wins Attitude magazine’s Politician of the Year Award

By Helen Duffett | Thu 18th October 2012 - 1:40 pm

At the inaugural Attitude Awards, former Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister and current Minister for International Development, Lynne Featherstone received the Politician of the Year Award for her work to secure equal marriage for same-sex couples.

From the Attitude website:

As much of the debate over the issue has descended into hysterical farce, we salute Lynne Featherstone for her clear and concise defence of the reforms. The minister has refused to be sidetracked, stating in March: ‘The

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Posted in News | Also tagged attitude, lynne featherstone and stephen gilbert | 18 Comments

News snippets from the Conservative conference: tax, Europe, migration and more

By Mark Pack | Sun 7th October 2012 - 10:28 am

Trouble ahead on tax as Osborne opposes a mansion tax:

We are not going to have a mansion tax, or a new tax that is a percentage value of people’s properties.

Before you rush to spot the loophole in that – what about adding extra higher bands to Council Tax? – he opposed that too. Given Osborne made much of his reputation as was by opposing changes to inheritance tax, perhaps it is on capital gains tax that there will be room fro an agreement with the …

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Posted in News | Also tagged council tax, david cameron, european union, george osborne, mansion tax, railways, tax and theresa may | 13 Comments

Opinion: Concern over Northern Ireland Equal Marriage Petition of Concern

By Stephen Glenn | Sat 29th September 2012 - 2:30 pm

There is a mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly that is designed to protect minority interests. It is called a petition of concern. Any 30 MLAs can call for one on any issue up for debate.

What it means that instead of simple majority the motion for debate requires 60% of the chamber and 40% of both the Unionist and Nationalist designations.

You may ask why I have highlighted this at the top of this post. The answer is to do with a debate before the Assembly on Monday 1 October, a debate on Equal Marriage, a motion largely similar to our …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged dup and northern ireland | Leave a comment