Party Whips accused of threatening an MP’s career over equal marriage opposition
In a letter sent to peers ahead of next week’s House of Lords Second Reading of the Marriage (same sex couples) Bill, a group of MPs have accused party Whips of threatening the careers of MPs opposed to equal marriage, despite there being a free vote on the Bill in the House of Commons.
The letter published by Guido Fawkes,Ā was sent to peers by fifteen MPs from mainly the Conservative Party, but includes two members from the DUP, and one Labour Co-Operative member.
It accuses the Bill of being “deeply flawed”, and “unpopular”, and claims that MPs were not allowed to oppose it, despite the three major parties allowing a free vote on it.
The letter reads: āRegrettably, our ability as MPs to oppose, amend or scrutinise this Bill was heavily constrained. At Second Reading, backbench speeches were limited to only 4 minutes. The main parties announced a free vote but we saw varying degrees of coercion, with threats made, for example, to an MPās future political career or withdrawal of party support at future elections.ā
The letter goes on to claim that by having a Commons Committee of 19 MPs, was unfair, in favour of having a Whole House Committee, claims that the debates were limited to five days, compared to other bills which had longer periods of debate.
It also claims the Committee was stacked in favour of the Bill, and notes that the Government accepted no amendments to it.
āThe Government presses on without any mandate from a party manifesto. We are all elected representatives but none of use was elected on a platform to redefine marriageā¦ The consultation exercise was always about āhowā to introduce the changes, not whether to do so.”
It then claims that āmost ofā the constituents of the included MPs ābelieve marriage is a unique institution that forms the bedrock of society and should therefore be left as it isā, referring to the ādeep unpopularityā of the Bill, which it calls ādeeply flawedā.
The Bill is signed by Tories:Ā MP forĀ South East CambridgeshireĀ Jim Paice , MP for Gainsborough in LincolnshireĀ Edward Leigh,Ā MP forĀ MontgomeryshireĀ Glyn Davies,Ā MP forĀ CongletonĀ Fiona Bruce, MP forĀ South DorsetĀ Richard Drax, Ā Karl McCartney, MP for PeterboroughĀ Stewart Jackson, MP for Suffolk CoastalĀ Therese Coffey,Ā MP for AldershotĀ Gerald Howarth, and MP for Calder ValleyĀ Craig Whittaker.
The letter was also signed by DUP memberĀ Jim Shannon, MP for Upper Bann David Simpson, as well as Labour Co-Operateive MP forĀ Heywood and MiddletonĀ Jim Dobbin,
Also signing the letter was Tory MP forĀ East Worthing and ShorehamĀ Tim Loughton, who had proposed what became known as a “wrecking amendment”, to allow civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples. The amendment was not accepted.
