David Cameron has admitted that he regrets forcing same sex ‘marriage’ legislation through Parliament in a private meeting with senior Conservative constituency officials at the Conservative Party conference.
Mistake
The Prime Minister allegedly said that the legislation was the “biggest political mistake of his premiership” because of the unhappiness it had caused within the parliamentary and voluntary party.
He added that whilst he was supportive of same sex ‘marriage’, he had under-estimated the degree of opposition he would face over the proposals from his own party members and the Church.
“He was effectively saying he wished he had left it well alone. We wished he had too”, said one association chairman who attended the meeting.
Another constituency chairman said: “Feelings were running very high. We told him that we were losing good members to Ukip over gay marriage.”
Damage
“The trouble is the damage is already done as I’ve lost dozens of members from my association.”
It is reported that Mr Cameron was applauded after he revealed his regrets over the policy.
One Cabinet minister who was at the conference, said: “It’s true he wishes he had never done it. He has been saying this is the biggest political mistake of his premiership because he totally underestimated the trouble it would cause.
“There’s no doubt Cameron genuinely believes in the policy and passionately believes in equality in marriage. But he regrets the unhappiness and dissent it has caused among his MPs and the voluntary party.”
The Daily Mail reported that there has been a drop in Conservative Party membership of over fifty per cent since Mr Cameron took the leadership in 2005. Thousands of members cited same sex ‘marriage’ as the reason for not renewing their subscriptions.
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