Government refuses to rule out using Parliament Act to force equal marriage past the House of Lords
Culture Secretary Maria Miller has refused to rule out using the Parliament Act in order for the government to get its planned equal marriage legislation for England and Wales on the statute book, if it’s rejected in the Lords.
The Telegraph reports that some peers have already predicted that the bill could be sunk in the upper chamber even if it passes the Commons.
In a statement, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport sought to play down the likelihood of the act being used: “We do not foresee that this will be the case and have no plans to do so,” a spokesperson said.
Any use of the act would be a bold move by the government as it has only been used seven times in the past century.
Despite predictions that almost half of Tory MPs will vote against equal marriage in a free vote, the proposal is likely to secure a majority in the Commons with the support of Labour and Liberal Democrat members.
LGBTory Chairman, Matthew Sephton, said: “The Conservatives had a Contract for Equalities in 2010 which was a specific set of pledges on equalities issues, with two pages dedicated to LGBT issues, one of which was to review civil partnerships and same-sex marriage laws.”
Meanwhile, David Cameron’s popularity among LGBT voters has risen since he backed equal marriage, according to a PinkNews.co.uk poll.
