Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

May I say what a privilege it is to follow that excellent speech.

Given the time constraint...

Four minutes are not enough to lay out an argument about this matter, so let me set out some grou...

As always, I am listening carefully to my hon. Friend. In so much as the Bill is an answer to any...

My hon. Friend makes a good point, which returns to a point raised earlier. This should be about ...

I rise strongly to support this Bill as a practising Christian who now worships in the Church in ...

We should indeed treat one another with tolerance and treat everybody’s sexuality with understand...

rose—

I am happy to give way to the hon. Gentleman who gave those assurances to me.

Assurances from me do not necessarily determine what happens in Parliament in future. Several hon...

The worry some of us have is that the world, in the hon. Gentleman’s mind, could move on again, a...

In respect of Parliament being sovereign, it matters not what anybody says in any debate, because...

That is precisely what I want to talk about —the nature of marriage.

The catechism of the R...

All hon. Members have had many letters from constituents about the Bill. One I received came from...

The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case against discrimination. Does he agree that one group...

The hon. Lady makes an excellent point that I am happy to agree with. I hope that changes will be...

It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Croydon North (Steve Reed). I feel a certain distre...

Has the hon. Lady, like me, been particularly angered and frustrated by the tactics of the campai...

The hon. Lady makes the point far better than I could have done. The Coalition for Marriage and s...

The hon. Lady is making a powerful speech. Does she agree that many European countries that are m...

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. In fact, there was a case from Austria in 2010, Schalk and Kop...

It is a great privilege to stand here today in the greatest seat of democracy in the world. I am ...

Does the hon. Gentleman share my puzzlement that this proposal was in nobody’s manifesto? Indeed,...

I understand exactly how the hon. Lady feels. I would feel the same if I were a Tory.

The q...

I am grateful for the tone of the debate so far, including from the Minister for Women and Equali...

Will the right hon. Gentleman therefore be voting against the timetable and carry-over motions th...

I will be voting against the timetable motion for just that reason, but I shall support the Bill....

I am pleased to hear about the right hon. Gentleman’s conversion. Will he take this opportunity t...

I have apologised to him both publicly and privately. I was on a platform with him the other day,...

I, too, welcome the tenor of this debate, as Members clearly have different opinions about same-s...

Order. Time is up. I call Craig Whittaker.

3.13 pm

Throughout all the debates and controversies surrounding the same-sex marriage proposals, recogni...

It is a huge privilege to be called to speak in this historic debate.

When I was a first-ti...

The level of interest in this subject, and the respect that has been shown by Members on both sid...

I want to set out misgivings about the Bill. I am not going to vote against it, because I do not ...

May I point out that the Church of England has never been the custodian of marriage in Scotland?<...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right.

The 1662 version of the Church of England service, whic...

My right hon. Friend was at my wedding. I was not young when I got married, and unless I had been...

No, I am certainly not. I was delighted to attend my hon. Friend’s wedding. The reason that I hav...

I am following my right hon. Friend’s argument about the importance of marriage for children. Is ...

I am not saying either of those things; I am simply making the point that it remains the ideal fo...

It is quite obvious from the tenor of this debate that this proposed legislation presents many pr...

Does my right hon. Friend share my puzzlement at why the Prime Minister referred specifically to ...

There have been many conflicting messages coming out of the Government, and my hon. Friend has ju...

Does my right hon. Friend accept that some of us may find ourselves having to abstain, even thoug...

I am glad I allowed my hon. Friend to intervene, because I think she has spoken for many people o...

Having listened carefully to the representations I have received from constituents on both sides ...

Does not the way in which the Bill is drafted protect the Church’s view of marriage, and, indeed,...

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. We have neighbouring constituents, and the representations ...

Last Saturday I went to the opening of an exhibition at M Shed, a museum in Bristol, entitled Out...

Does my hon. Friend agree with the gay people who have approached me, who feel that the vows of c...

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. The introduction of civil partnerships was an import...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bristol West (Stephen Williams), who spoke p...

I thought long and hard about seeking to speak in the debate. I feared the tone of it and how col...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

No, I will not.

Such colleagues need to remember that this involves peoples’ lives and we s...

I well remember the days when same-sex couples were denied basic rights: next of kin and relation...

Does the hon. Gentleman know of any case in any EU country where same-sex marriage is allowed in ...

I am grateful for that intervention, because I am going to deal with that point right now.

...

If we project forward into the future, is it not also the case that some Churches may change thei...

That may very well be the case, but my proposition, which separates a recognition of unions and p...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Mr...

Would my hon. Friend sum up the conundrum by saying that it is the tyranny of the usual channels ...

The suggestion that I could ever criticise the Whips is outrageous. Our problem is that Parliamen...

Does my hon. Friend agree that there has been a breach of precedent? A Bill dealing with an issue...

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s intervention. I hope, if I have time, to deal with that import...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I am sorry—I want other Members to have a chance to speak.

I have a simple solution to ...

I apologise for missing part of the debate. I have been in a Public Bill Committee.

I want ...

I was a primary teacher when section 28 came into force. The class I taught in Peckham had childr...

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. We have a chance to extend the rights that we enjoy to othe...

I first put on record my appreciation of the Coalition for Marriage, which has done a fantastic j...

Does my hon. Friend agree that we should have had, at the very least, a draft Bill and pre-legisl...

Absolutely. This goes to the heart of the point that, as Conservatives, we are traditionally caut...

The majority of the population do not seem to care very much about what we are talking about toda...

Yes, I do agree with my hon. and gallant Friend. Overwhelmingly, the letters and e-mails that I h...

I hope that one day, we will live in a truly equal society in which there is little or no discrim...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful point and one that we should hear more of. Does she agree tha...

I would love to have more time and my hon. Friend has given me a little extra.

It is also i...

My hon. Friend is making a good speech. Let me take her back to the point about homophobia and ho...

Today is indeed an opportunity to celebrate the progress that we have made, but as I said at the ...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, I will not—I will not get any more time, so it is not in my interests.

Many European co...

I shall be voting against this Bill because I am a Conservative, and also because an overwhelming...

My hon. Friend raises a good point about the constituency postbag that many of us have received. ...

Order. We must have shorter interventions on the grounds that everybody wants to contribute. It i...

I cannot answer for my hon. Friend’s constituents but I know that my constituency has the highest...

Does my hon. Friend also think it is outrageous that the Committee stage is not being taken on th...

Absolutely, and we should have had two days for the Second Reading debate. I am at odds with the ...

I agree with the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope) on the principle of equality for civil p...

I am very disappointed to have to rise to oppose the Bill. I never imagined that I would be put i...

I am sure that, like me, my hon. Friend will be saddened to hear that many colleagues in this Hou...

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. That is most regrettable.

The assumption of th...

I want to say to the Minister for Women and Equalities that I was the Minister who took through t...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the introduction of section 28 set back the debate, and that...

My hon. Friend is right. It was a moment—a great stain on the House—when we turned on an importan...

It is a privilege to be listening to my right hon. Friend’s extraordinary and impassioned perorat...

I totally accept the manner in which my hon. Friend has put his remarks, and it saddens me that I...

My views on marriage stem from my Christian faith, and I want to thank Members for the respect I ...

On religious freedoms, is the hon. Lady aware that after Denmark changed its laws, churches there...

I note that with interest, and hope to comment on it later.

What of the church youth leader...

I am sure the hon. Lady will know that the Book of Common Prayer says that one of the three reaso...

It is ironic that, although the Government say that they want to promote commitment and equality,...

I hope that I shall be able to prove to the hon. Member for Braintree (Mr Newmark) that one does ...

Order. I think he is a right hon. Member.

I want to pay a special tribute to the right hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan) becau...

I will be generous and give the Government credit for the title of the Bill. It is about marriage...

I thank my hon. Friend for the sincere way in which he is putting, and has put, his arguments. Do...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Let us be clear about this, because different things have been s...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way.

I will not.

The position was well summed up by Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of Ston...

I am on a different side of the argument from my hon. Friend, but I have known him for many years...

I do not have a monopoly on victimhood. The homosexual community has been subject to abuse which,...

I rise to oppose the legislation presented by Her Majesty’s Government involving the redefinition...

Does my hon. Friend agree that thousands of teachers across this country could find themselves on...

I thank my hon. Friend for that timely intervention. In recent times, I have witnessed intoleranc...

Is my hon. Friend aware that the minister of Holy Trinity church, Brompton approached the Governm...

I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention, and I will deal with that point in a moment.