Cheryl Gillan votes against gay marriage

Feb 6 2013

cheryl gillan

THE MP for Chesham and Amersham voted against the bill to legalise marriage for homosexual couples, saying you could not 'redefine' the institution.

Cheryl Gillan was one of the 136 Tory MPs to vote against the bill, which got MPs backing on Tuesday February 5.

After the vote took place, Mrs Gillan spoke to our reporter and said: "It was a very difficult decision for me. It was not easy at all but I do think that you can't redefine marriage."

In a debate about the topic in parliament on Tuesday, Mrs Gillan said: "This legislation, however, was not in our manifesto; it was not in the coalition agreement; and it was not in the Queen’s Speech. It should not have been introduced before a much fuller discussion had taken place—particularly, I believe, within my own party."

The MP also said in the debate that the Church had not been fully consulted and should have been more involved in the discussions of the legislation.

MPs were given a free vote so they were not ordered to vote either way by party whips. The legislation will now have further parliamentary scrutiny.

Dominic Grieve, MP for Beaconsfield, abstained from the vote.