Labour Councillor Carl Walker listed my voting record which ‘will hang round my neck like a millstone.’ Here is my response:
- On 5 Mar 2014: Tim Loughton voted against making same sex marriage available to armed forces personnel outside the UK.
- On 21 May 2013: Tim Loughton voted against allowing same sex couples to marry.
- On 5 Feb 2013: Tim Loughton voted against allowing same sex couples to marry.
- On 5 Feb 2013: Tim Loughton was absent for a vote on Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill (Money)
- On 5 Feb 2013: Tim Loughton was absent for a vote on Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill — (Carry-over)
- On 5 Mar 2014: Tim Loughton voted against enabling the courts to deal with proceedings for the divorce of, or annulment of the marriage of, a same sex couple.
- On 5 Mar 2014: Tim Loughton voted against making same sex marriage available to armed forces personnel outside the UK.
- On 21 May 2013: Tim Loughton voted against allowing same sex couples to marry.
- On 5 Feb 2013: Tim Loughton voted against allowing same sex couples to marry.
These all fall under the category of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. My objection was not an objection to the principle of same sex marriage which I have supported in later votes. The Bill in any case was nothing to do with equal rights unlike the Civil partnerships Bill 2004 which gave full recognition and protection to same sex couples by the state.
However this was a big step forward and one which many constituents objected to, whether I agreed with those objections or not. I received more correspondence on this Bill than virtually any other issue except Brexit, and by a margin of around 15 to 1, constituents urged me to vote against it.
My main objection was that proposals to bring in same sex marriage were not included in the election manifestos of any of the main political parties in 2010. It was not even being lobbied for by Stonewall. It had no democratic mandate and was being rushed in by David Cameron, and as always, I listened to the views of my constituents. It also unwittingly created a new inequality. Same sex couples in future would be able to enter into a civil partnership or a conventional marriage whilst opposite sex couples had only the option of a marriage despite the fact that there are over 3.3 million opposite sex cohabiting couples in the UK, many of who would like to have a formal union but for their own reasons do not want to go down the marriage route.
At the time I proposed an amendment which would have brought about equal civil partnerships and if passed I said I would not oppose the Bill overall, but it was rejected by the Government and by the Labour frontbench although supported by many backbenchers.
Five years on, as I have frequently said, same sex marriages have been accepted, the sky has not fallen in and the world and the constituency have moved on and few constituents now write to me about it. I would not vote to change the law, it is not going to be changed, so just get over it. Hence, I voted for a level playing field across the whole of the UK last week and will continue to do so.
- On 19 Mar 2007: Tim Loughton voted no on Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
This was poorly constructed legislation that could have had a detrimental impact on Catholic adoption agencies, and could have infringed upon the ongoing court action in Northern Ireland.
- On 25 May 2004: Tim Loughton was absent for a vote on Gender Recognition Bill — Allow Marriages to Remain Valid If They Become a Same Sex Marriage
- On 10 Mar 2003: Tim Loughton was absent for a vote on Local Government Bill — Maintain Prohibition on Promotion of Homosexuality (Section 28)
Absence on a vote surely shouldn’t be considered voting against the contents. If so, it is worth remembering that Jeremy Corbyn was also absent for the Section 28 vote. I assume Mr Corbyn’s voting record below will hang around his neck like a millstone too?
- On 4 Nov 2002: Tim Loughton voted no on Adoption and Children Bill — Suitability of Adopters
Nothing to do with equal rights. No one has a right to adopt, whether a gay or straight couple. This Bill was on overhauling adoption. This came before the recognition of same sex civil partnerships meaning there was no way of recognising joint responsibility for an adopted child, particularly if the couple split up. After same sex civil partnerships were introduced, and as Children’s Minister, I made sure same sex couples were part of the working parties for adoption reforms, and during my time as Children’s Minister, same sex couple adoptions saw the biggest increase ever.
- On 22 June 1998: Tim Loughton voted against reducing the age of consent for homosexual acts from eighteen to sixteen bringing equality to the law affecting heterosexual and homosexual acts.
Over twenty years ago there was a case for levelling up the age of consent for all to 18 whether gay or straight, in common with many other activities restricted until the official age for becoming an adult.
