50 senior local Tories write open letter to support same-sex marriage
A day after 23 present or former local Conservative association chairman or officials wrote to David Cameron to call on him to reject same-sex marriage, more than 50 current senior local Conservatives have written an open letter in support of the policy.
The letter authored by Paul Swaddle, the chairman of the Conservative National Convention and signed by more than 50 senior local officials says:-
Please do not allow the impression that all Conservative Party activists are opposed to gay marriage. Many of us strongly agree with the proposal.
Nor is it true that gay marriage has no mandate. David Cameron made his support for it clear in his first Conference speech as Party Leader, and won loud applause. It was in the Party’s Equalities Manifesto at the last election.
We agree that there are many vital issues for the Government to tackle. But marriage and how we treat minorities are important issues, too.
We appreciate the concerns of some of our supporters. But the freedom of faith groups to disagree is protected in the Bill. By opposing gay marriage outright, we risk alienating the voters we will need in 2015.
To win, the Conservative Party must mount a broad appeal. We urge our MPs to listen to the wider views of their electorate as they decide how to vote.
