You mole may not have eyes to see, but it can certainly sniff a trend emerging among the new all-Tory frontbench. Not only did Nicky Morgan (Education Secretary) u-turn on her opposition to gay marriage when she received the Equalities brief, but her new junior Equalities Minister Caroline Dinenage MP has also flipflopped on the subject.
An big thank you for all the kind messages of support following my appointment at both the Ministry of Justice & Women & Equalities Office.
— Caroline Dinenage (@cj_dinenage) May 13, 2015
To all the others I want to be clear – I support equal marriage & I’m fully committed to advancing the cause of LGBT equality moving forward
— Caroline Dinenage (@cj_dinenage) May 13, 2015
Dinenage actually opposed the Bill when it first came before the Commons in 2013, and then didn’t turn up to the final vote.
Here’s her voting record:
Expect more of this from David Cameron’s new government members. Although lots of them voted against the Bill (128 in the end), and many abstained, some are having a change of heart. This is probably more to do with loyalty to the newly powerful PM, and the fact it makes no difference to their constituents now the law has been made, than a sudden love for the gays.