Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Jane Ellison Excerpts

Tuesday 5th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McCann]

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

The much-vaunted quadruple lock is underpinned by case law. Everyone in the House knows that what makes case law is cases. I am damn sure—as sure as the sun rises in the morning—that a same-sex couple will go to a church or synagogue and demand to be married, their demand will be refused and they will go to court; and we in turn will have to wait to see what new case law is created. By that time, it is possible that none of us will be serving in the House—we may have left politics altogether or indeed left this mortal coil—but in that set of circumstances people will look back and ask, “How did we get into this mess?” They will look back in Hansard and say, “It’s because we made a bad law in 2013, and some politician said at the time that there was a quadruple lock, underpinned by case law.”

[Jane Ellison (Battersea) (Con)]

If we project forward into the future, is it not also the case that some Churches may change their mind, just as they have over the blessing of civil partnerships? Parts of the Church of England, and certainly parts of the Church in Wales, have already expressed a desire to go further than the Bill will allow. Society will evolve, but so too will the views of the Churches.

[Mr McCann]

That may very well be the case, but my proposition, which separates a recognition of unions and partnerships by the state and partnerships recognised by Churches, would make sure that there was no confusion between state and Church; there would be a clear distinction in law. That is why I am upset about what is being proposed today. Because the quadruple lock proposed by the Minister is to be supported by case law, the inevitable conclusion is that if case law changes, the Minister’s argument falls.

When I came into Parliament I made a personal vow that I would never knowingly vote for a poor Bill or for a poor piece of legislation. I may unintentionally do that in my time in this place, but I will not do it when I know that what is in front of me is a poorly constructed Bill, which in turn could become a poorly constructed law. That is why this evening I will vote against Second Reading. That is my position, which I wanted to place on the record.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jane Ellison (Battersea) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to make a brief contribution to this debate.

To reflect on the last point that was made by the hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley), I think that it is fair to say that the contents of all our inboxes over the past few weeks are testimony to the fact that free speech is alive and well in this country. I am not aware that any Christians who disagree with my support for the Bill have felt in any way inhibited from expressing that view. That is great. I totally support their right to do so.

May I also respond to the point that has been made continually about marriage having been between a man and a woman throughout history? Given that homosexuality was illegal in the UK until the late ’60s, it is ridiculous to make the point that marriage has always been between a man and a woman. Until that point, a homosexual relationship would not even have been legal. Had homosexuality been legalised 100 years ago, we probably would have had this debate many years back. People must bear that historical context in mind.

We must also remember that although we are talking about these changes, people face death, imprisonment and persecution for being gay in large parts of our world. The messages that we send out on these issues are therefore very important and resonate beyond these shores.

I am not a religious person. My starting point in this debate is that if we can extend to some people rights that will bring them great joy and happiness, without damaging the rights of other people or institutions, that is a good thing. I believe that that is what the Bill sets out to do.

As has been more than demonstrated by this debate, marriage is incredibly important to people of faith. However, marriage is not owned by people of faith alone. It has long belonged to civic society as well. I must speak up for that large group of people in this debate. It is easy to forget that many people still celebrate civil marriages. It is a good thing that they do because, given the declining church attendances over many decades, if they did not, marriage would be declining at a greater rate than it is. Many people enter into marriage sincerely and happily outside of religious statute. Let us not forget those people, because they need a voice in this debate.

The other people whose voice has been lacking from the national debate over the past few weeks are young people. I represent the youngest borough in the country, which has the highest proportion of 25 to 39-year-olds in England and Wales. Many of those people look at us and wonder about the debate that we are having. Some of them have sincere doubts about the Bill and have expressed them to me, but many of them think that this is a Bill whose time has come.

I have been surprised by the people who have written to me asking, “What will I tell my children if this Bill goes through?” The children of some of those people will be gay. That is a matter of statistical probability. I therefore hope that they tell their children, “If you’re gay, it’s okay and I’ll love you just the same. And guess what? I hope I can come to your wedding if you decide to get married.”

Before my time runs out, I would like to quote an e-mail from my constituent, Matt Turrell, who said that I could do so:

“I’m 38 and grew up through what felt like very homophobic years, which as a young person leaves you with a lasting sense of second-class citizenship.”

Matt is now a photographer who makes money by photographing, among other things, civil partnerships. That picks up on the point about the inadvertent growth strategy, because he will, I hope, be able to extend his business in the near future to same-sex weddings. He wrote:

“In every partnership I’ve worked at, there has been an overwhelming feeling of love between the couple and also love and support from their family and friends.”

The Bill is not just about the gay people who want to get married; it is about their family and friends who want to celebrate that special moment with them. I very much hope that we will support the Bill.