David Cameron: Small-C

'A significant social issue for the capital is gay marriage. David Cameron is reportedly wavering on his commitment after a furious backlash from heartland Tories. He says there is an ongoing consultation but he is “clear about my views”, adding, “I ask myself the question, why is it that we deny gay couples the ability to get married, and I don’t think that’s right.”
'His opponents are within his party as well as the Church. “Obviously this is a controversial issue,” says Cameron. “I feel the time for change has come. If you ask, particularly young people, they say this feels like a very natural change to make ... We are not changing what happens in church.”
When I question him about the opposition of the Church, and ask if he has a liberal preference for the next Archbishop of Canterbury, he suddenly looks genuinely upset. “I have said enough. I don’t want to start getting into a fight with the Church.” He adds: “The Conservative Party has been on a journey to where all small-c institutions go, in a modern world, which is that if marriage is good for heterosexuals it is good for gay couples too.”
'I wonder if the rest of the Conservative Party is on the same journey as their leader. Are they tiring of his reforming and modernising? The gains of Ukip in the opinion polls for the London elections are striking.
'The Prime Minister replies: “I am a heartfelt Conservative. The reason I wanted to lead the Conservative Party was that I felt it needed to make important changes, to broaden the base of its support...”

David Cameron pops up in yesterday's London's Evening Standard to back Boris.
Perhaps the last line here is the key one; Cameron took a gamble that gabbling on about his support for gay marriage would get lesbian and gay voters over their Toryphobia, but straight people wouldn't be that bothered either way.
It was a wholly cynical exercise which has backfired. *
And, despite these nice words, I'm still not convinced it will happen under Cameron. 

PS In an accompanying editorial the Standard come out for gay marriage, putting the conservative case; "[Cameron's] instincts are right and reflect a huge shift in public attitudes on the issue. Civil partnerships, once seen by opponents as a radical move, are now an unremarkable fact of British life, both in London and the provinces. We believe that making matrimony available to gay couples is a natural progression from civil partnerships."

* A ComRes/Christian Institute poll just published has 8% of respondents saying Cameron's support for same-sex marriage makes them far less likely to vote Conservative, while 5% say it makes them much more likely to. Hilariously it points out the margin of error is 5%.
When the Tories get a much deserved drubbing in today's elections, it will have fuck-all to do with gay marriage.
It's the economy, stupid.