Same-Sex Marriage: Another Premature Ejaculation

"The Government is to legislate for same-sex marriages before the next general election.
"A public consultation on how to make civil marriage available to same-sex couples is to be launched in March of next year.
"The timing means that any necessary legislative changes can be on the Statute Book before the next election, scheduled for May 2015.
"The move was announced by Lib Dem equalities minister Lynne Featherstone, who is addressing the opening day of her party's annual conference in Birmingham on Saturday.
"'I am delighted to confirm that early next year, this Government will begin a formal consultation on equal civil marriage for same-sex couples," she said. 'This would allow us to make any legislative changes before the end of this Parliament.'
"We will be working closely with all those who have an interest in the area to understand their views ahead of the formal consultation."
"The Lib Dems had been keen to claim credit for the move, which has the strong support of party activists.
"However, senior Tories made clear it had been pushed through with the strong backing of David Cameron - despite the likely opposition of many Conservative traditionalists.
"A No 10 source hinted that the Prime Minister had also had to overcome opposition within the Government to ensure it went through.
"'It is something that was in our equalities manifesto at the election and it is something the PM has been pushing for," the source said."

Press Association released this just after midnight - appears in much the same form in several papers early Saturday.
Nothing so far on the Home Office - or Liberal Democrat - website.
We'd already been told there was going to be a consultation; Theresa May said this at a Stonewall conference in May - so this is hardly big news.
Beyond a slightly less vague promise of a timetable.
And for consultation - not legislation, never mind that legislation being voted through parliament.
Still nice to see it looks like the Tories and Lib Dems are battling it out to take credit for this non-announcement.
If Lynne Featherstone is announcing it today, then why were various Tory sources Tweeting about it - and pushing the angle about how David Cameron had pushed for it - on Friday?
I just hope the government sticks to its principles and only allows gay men to marry if they haven't had gay sex for twelve months.
More in the morning...

Update: Draft response from Stonewall.

Update 2: Listening to Featherstone on Radio 4 News it so looks like reheating this old news was just a sop to the Lib Dem leadership so they don't look like TOTAL sell-outs; "Do not let us go naked into the conference chamber..."

Update 3: Here's Featherstone's insipid inspirational conference speech in full.