Mary Reid

Osborne, Hague and May on equal marriage

By | Tue 5th February 2013 - 11:10 am

Following Stephen Tall’s analysis of the support for equal marriage among Liberal Democrat MPs, it is worth noting the views held by some senior Conservatives.

George Osborne, William Hague and Theresa May have jointly written a letter to the Telegraph:

SIR – Today the Commons will vote on the Bill to allow same-sex marriage.

Civil partnerships for gay couples were a great step forward, but the question now is whether it is any longer acceptable to exclude people from marriage simply because they love someone of the same sex.

Marriage has evolved over time. We believe that opening it up to same-sex couples will strengthen, not weaken, the institution. As David Cameron has said, we should support gay marriage not in spite of being Conservatives, but because we are Conservatives.

Our party also has a strong belief in religious freedom, a vital element of a free society. The Bill ensures that no faith group will be forced to conduct same-sex marriages. The legal advice is clear that these protections for religious groups cannot be overturned by the courts.

Religious freedom works both ways. Why should faith groups, such as the Quakers, that wish to conduct gay marriages be forbidden from doing so? This Bill will enhance religious freedom, not restrict it.

Attitudes towards gay people have changed. A substantial majority of the public now favour allowing same-sex couples to marry, and support has increased rapidly. This is the right thing to do at the right time. We will be among the Conservative MPs voting for this Bill today.

Note: In the middle of this letter there is a link to ‘Related Article’: Derelict churchyards are a grave waste of space

* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.

Read more by .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

One Comment

  • john mc 6th Feb '13 - 12:18am

    That letter could be a sort of Tory Clause IV moment, it did make me feel sort of warm…

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Roland
    @Peter & @Paul - Remember the IoM (and Jersey and Guernsey) is also a tax haven hence why it is a favoured "residence" of the wealthy, such as Baroness Mon...
  • Jana
    Personally, I think the Liberal Democrats have missed a great opportunity here. Imagine the boost to our support if we were to stand, unite the anti-Farage supp...
  • paul barker
    It looks like its going to be Reform Vs The Greens with the latter representing The "Establishment" Unless The Government take Ed's advice & stop it....
  • Peter Martin
    @ Paul, £3 million is of course better than nothing from a population of 84,500 This works out, according to my arithmetic, as 3/0.0845 as £35.5 millio...
  • Paul WalterPaul Walter
    Peter From the "Isle Of Man Today" 5/11/24: "The Isle of Man pays the UK more than £3m a year as a contribution towards services which include our defenc...