Voters contacting MPs "overwhelmingly" against redefining marriage
A new opinion poll has revealed that the postbags of MPs are dominated by correspondence from constituents asking them to oppose David Cameron’s plan to redefine marriage.
According to the findings by ComRes, same-sex ‘marriage’ is one of the primary concerns mentioned in both letters and emails to MPs. Among Tories, 45 per cent say that letters and emails opposing same-sex marriage are the number one item in their postbag and email accounts.
MPs from all parties revealed that constituents were “overwhelmingly” against the measure, with 19 per cent generally opposed and 55 per cent strongly opposed to the measure. Just 16 per cent of those who are in touch with their MPs support the plans.
The poll also found that only 4 per cent of MPs believe that redefining marriage is a main priority for the general public.
Raw Nerve
Andrew Hawkins, Chief Executive of ComRes, said: “Clearly this issue has touched a raw nerve with the public, and not in a positive way.
“It is however entirely in line with public polling which shows that Mr Cameron’s stance on same-sex marriage has already cost the Conservatives some support and could well be responsible for a number of the party’s MPs losing their seats at the next election.”
Colin Hart, Campaign Director for the Coalition for Marriage, said: “This poll shows that, right across the Commons, MPs do not regard gay marriage as an important priority.
“It also demonstrates that public opposition to the measure is vociferous and widespread.
“If Ministers decide to press ahead regardless of popular opinion, they will further undermine public confidence in Parliament and reinforce the growing impression that the ruling elite is out of touch with the strongly-held concerns and opinions of the British people.
“David Cameron should drop this idea before it causes yet more social divisions and ill-feeling.”
Free Vote
Last weekend, Nick Clegg attacked David Cameron’s decision to offer Conservative MPs and Ministers a free-vote on the issue for conscience reasons.
Mr Clegg, who is keen to redefine marriage regardless of public opinion, criticised the move and stated that it was wrong to let the vote become “a great free-for-all”.
He has previously said that the Government consultation on the issue was about “how” and not “whether” to introduce same-sex marriage, leading some to suggest that the Government were also redefining the word “consultation”.
Comment
Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“David Cameron and Nick Clegg are hugely out of touch with the British public on this issue.”
“Nick Clegg’s opposition to a free vote for Conservative MPs provides another glimpse into the deep intolerance of those who want to redefine marriage for the rest of us despite the lack of any democratic mandate to do so.”
Coalition for Marriage
The ComRes poll was commissioned by the Coalition for Marriage campaign, which seeks to defend the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.
The campaign, of which Christian Concern is a core member, has already attracted over half a million signatures to its petition.
Act now
At Christian Concern we are calling on each and every one of our supporters to submit a response to the Government consultation on redefining marriage.
In order to make it easy we have prepared an online form that submits the answers directly to the Government for you. The form should take approximately 5 minutes. Users will then have an option to send their answers directly to their local MP.
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