Four of Somerset's five MPs vote for gay marriage

12:54pm Wednesday 6th February 2013 in News By Matthew Colledge

Jeremy Browne Jeremy Browne

FOUR of Somerset’s five MPs voted in favour of gay marriage during last night’s historic vote in the House of Commons.

The second reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill went through by a majority of 225 MPs, with 400 voting in favour and 175 against.

It will now face further Parliamentary scrutiny before it can become law.

LibDems Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane), David Laws (Yeovil), David Heath (Somerton and Frome) and Tessa Munt (Wells) all voted for the bill.

Mr Browne said: “I believe people should have the freedom to love who they want and marry who they want.

“I don't see why extending this freedom to same sex marriages will undermine conventional marriages.

“I hope it will simply provide some more people with a greater degree of security and companionship if they decide to get married.

“There is a specific exemption for the Church of England, so same sex marriages will typically be performed in civic places such as register officers rather than churches.

“All social change can initially feel unsettling for some people, but this proposal is supported by all three party leaders and I do believe that in time it will come to be seen as being fairly uncontroversial.”

Conservative Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, was out of the country, but says he would have voted against.

Mr Liddell-Grainger, who is on a Parliamentary delegation to Morocco, wrote on his blog: “I have pondered long and hard about this moral question and come to the conclusion that what is suggested in the bill is neither sensible nor workable.

“Some of my constituents have said - why not cancel the trip and vote on the bill instead? That course of action, I'm afraid, would have caused an international diplomatic furore and would have been seen as insulting to the Moroccan royal family.

“Trips like this take months to arrange. The timing of Parliamentary bills, however, is sprung on MPs at the last moment.

“However my absence at the vote certainly does not mean that I have changed my mind on the issue. If the bill proceeds past second reading there will be many opportunities to use my vote against it.”

Comments(16)

topcataj says...
1:40pm Wed 6 Feb 13

I hope people remember these sorts of choices by people like Ian Liddell-Grainger when it comes to election time.

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Doverbeme says...
1:57pm Wed 6 Feb 13

Parliamentary delegation to Morocco? Shameless excuse for a holiday, me thinks.

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FreeSpeech? says...
6:11pm Wed 6 Feb 13

I hope everyone remembers who put us in this mess.Labour!

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CosApp says...
10:36pm Wed 6 Feb 13

What's next. The rights of a polygamist or bigamist to marry more than one person because THEY love more than one person? Marriage of individuals before 16 because THEY love each other? Pandora's box isn't just open, the lid has been torn from its hinges!

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RobBW says...
6:58am Thu 7 Feb 13

CosApp wrote:
What's next. The rights of a polygamist or bigamist to marry more than one person because THEY love more than one person? Marriage of individuals before 16 because THEY love each other? Pandora's box isn't just open, the lid has been torn from its hinges!
Don't be so pathetic!

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Fartypants says...
7:21am Thu 7 Feb 13

CosApp wrote:
What's next. The rights of a polygamist or bigamist to marry more than one person because THEY love more than one person? Marriage of individuals before 16 because THEY love each other? Pandora's box isn't just open, the lid has been torn from its hinges!
Ian didn't return to the UK because he didn't want to offend the Moroccan (or "Morocdan", as he mis-spelt it) Royal Family. By not participating the debate he's denied his constituents any voice (for or against) in the House. I'm pretty offended by that. And what about the 10% (on average) of his constituents who happen to be gay? Are they, in some way, less important than a jolly to sun-drenched Morocco at the tax-payers expense? How offensive!

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Fartypants says...
7:28am Thu 7 Feb 13

Oh and Ian, if you've already made up your mind and won't change it (as stated in your blog), why are you running a survey? So you can claim lipservice to the idea you're representing us? Why put marriage in inverted commas? Marriage is marriage. When are you going to be a proper representative of all of your constituency rather than your constituency party and the right wing clique of the Conservative party in London? Dear me, I miss Tom King. And I've never voted Comservative. That should tell you something!

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jimeee says...
10:11pm Thu 7 Feb 13

Next thing is they will want us to allow them to get divorced as well.

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Bridgy old Boy says...
4:45pm Fri 8 Feb 13

Judging by the nonsense ILG comes out with on his blog just by opening his mouth in Moracco was more likely to cause "international furore" the King of Morocco would probably welcome his absence.

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swjoduk says...
8:27pm Fri 8 Feb 13

Bridgy old Boy wrote:
Judging by the nonsense ILG comes out with on his blog just by opening his mouth in Moracco was more likely to cause "international furore" the King of Morocco would probably welcome his absence.
haha, love it!

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windswept and interesting says...
9:22pm Fri 8 Feb 13

Pity it was'nt a one way ticket for ILG.

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BaldCarl2 says...
10:58am Sat 9 Feb 13

So, homphobic ILG was on an expenses paid trip to Morocco. Hard life eh?

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windswept and interesting says...
7:32pm Sat 9 Feb 13

Lets face it. The only gay men ILG is likely to meet are other MPS. There's no such thing as a gay farmer....is ther ?

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jimeee says...
5:30pm Mon 11 Feb 13

No wonder the Pope has handed his notice in.

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Baldbloke says...
6:14pm Mon 11 Feb 13

Hooray! I've found a post with not one single misplaced capital letter!!!

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windswept and interesting says...
7:21pm Mon 11 Feb 13

Baldbloke wrote:
Hooray! I've found a post with not one single misplaced capital letter!!!
Quick, lock the thread down and preserve it for future generations !

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click2find

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