Veteran Tory: Introducing same-sex marriage ‘was a political disaster’
A veteran Tory MP has said he thought introducing same-sex marriage “was a disaster” politically, as it “looked like a distraction”.
Former shadow Home Secretary David Davis said in an interview with the Independent that he thought the defection to UKIP by two “quite significant”, and noted a loss of Tory members following the introduction of same-sex marriage.
“Politically it was a disaster. I had lunch with a loyal Cabinet minister who said he had lost 24 members in a week,” he said.
Mr Davis spoke in the interview about almost voting against military action against Islamic State in Iraq, before abstaining.
He said that party leadership had made mistakes by promoting the idea that the Conservatives were a “nasty party”. He said: “We were trying to fix something that is not wrong.”
The MP for Haltemprice & Howden voted against the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill last year.
