Nicky Morgan: People need to accept I’ve changed my mind on same-sex marriage

Equalities minister Nicky Morgan has slammed people who ‘can’t accept’ that she now supports LGBT rights over her voting history.

The MP for Loughborough was appointed as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Equalities last year.

Though she voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Marriage) bill in 2013, Mrs Morgan has since become a supporter of LGBT equality and launched several initiatives to tackle homophobia in schools. She told PinkNews last year that she had changed her mind and would “probably” vote in favour of same-sex marriage.

Speaking at a Huffington Post fringe event at Tory conference, Mrs  Morgan says she still recieves abuse from people who can’t accept she “got it wrong” on the issue.

She said: “Doing the job I’m doing, I realised after the vote quite how people felt excluded and people making assumptions about why didn’t you know that beforehand.

“The whole point about being in politics is about learning. One of the privileges of being an MP and minister is you are meeting different people and learning.

“Hopefully people will understand that I’ve said I got it wrong and my position had changed.”

Speaking about abuse online, she added: “What I am surprised about is the people who don’t want to accept that someone can change their minds.

“Some people are more comfortable with making assumptions about something: ‘You voted that way therefore you must be this kind of person.’ That surprises me, how challenged people feel by someone changing their minds.

“I was going to say it had tailed off, but people will probably see this interview and say ‘right I’ll get on Twitter again’.”

Nicky Morgan is set to deliver a keynote speech at the PinkNews Awards held at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office this month, on October 21.

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