A recent free vote on the bill to allow gay marriage has caused much deliberation among MPs in the House of Commons; Nicky Morgan, Loughborough’s Conservative MP, chose to vote against it. This view was shared by a further 174 other MPs, who also voted against the bill, versus the 400 who voted for it.
Label had the chance to speak with Morgan, who said: ‘I believe marriage to be between a man and a woman.’
She continued: ‘My belief is, of course, influenced by my Christian faith and my membership to the Church of England, and the majority of constituents who have contacted me about this issue clearly agree with me.’
However, this is not the view of all MPs; Equalities Minister Maria Miller stated in her debate that she ‘doesn’t believe that as a country we have to choose between religious belief and fairness to same sex couples.’
Despite the overwhelming acceptance of the bill in the House of Commons, Morgan has stated that it is thought the bill ‘will be subject to great debate and amendment in the House of Lords.’
Many other major European countries such as Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands and countries such as Canada and South Africa have already legalised same sex marriages. Moreover, with the recent news that the French National Assembly were considering a similar legislation, Label asked Morgan whether or not she thought that the UK would be falling behind with fairness and equality if it failed to do likewise.
Morgan’s response was as follows: ‘I think this is a matter for each country to consider in light of its own social and religious history. We should be doing the right thing for Britain and the British people and not trying to compete with other countries. Change is not necessarily bad, but it needs to be debated further before any legislation is considered.’
Any form of legislation is still a long way off, however, this is a hot topic and it is likely that we will be hearing more on this topic in the near future. Furthermore, if you are in the Loughborough area and would like to voice your views on this topic it is advisable that you contact Loughborough’s Nicky Morgan.
