Gay Marriage: Wha'ppen?

Opponents of gay marriage were privately branded ‘Neanderthals’ by David Cameron, his biographer has revealed.

The Prime Minister defied opposition from his own advisers and hostility from the party to push through same sex marriage in 2013.

In ‘Cameron at 10’, Sir Anthony Seldon described the atmosphere at the 2011 Tory conference when Mr Cameron made the surprise announcement that he was consulting on legalising same sex marriage: ‘A bomb detonates in the party’, the academic wrote.

Few issues were as divisive in the party, Mr Seldon wrote, with some seeing it as ‘authentic Cameron’ pursuing his ideals while others thought it was a ‘self-inflicted wound’.

He had toyed with including it in the 2010 Tory manifesto but was over-ruled by his press adviser, Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor who was later jailed over the hacking scandal.

His advisers repeatedly told him: ‘what’s the point if it’s going to p*** off a lot of people and not win us any votes?’

But Mr Cameron said: ‘Unless you are making some Neanderthal judgement on gays, those who are gay should have the same rights as those who are not.’

Although he personally supported the policy, his election guru Lynton Crosby warned it could be a distraction. ‘You’re f***ing off the party big time.’ ...

Daily Mail.

Actually what happened was Cameron had to withdraw a chunk of his 2011 Conservative party speech as it was leaked and thought 'hideously patronising'.

In a panic, his newly anointed speechwriter, Julian Glover (Matthew Parris's boyfriend btw) told him to say something about gay marriage, to undercut his Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone backing same-sex marriage at the Lib Dems conference.

And that, boys and girls, is how you got gay marriage, basically.

It was completely cynical.