Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has said that she “probably would” vote differently on same-sex marriage if she were asked to again.
She made the comments during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme while discussing the Government’s £2 million programme on homophobic bullying.
Morgan was one of 136 Tory MPs who opposed the gay marriage legislation in February last year.
Constituents
Asked about how she would vote now, Morgan said she “probably would” vote differently, arguing that last year she acted on behalf of her constituents.
She said: “We are all, as Members of Parliament, here to represent, to listen, to hear, to change minds but I have a lot of constituents who asked me to vote in a particular way and I listened to them and it was an issue of conscience too.”
Morgan said that she received “requests of 10-to-1” asking her to vote against same-sex marriage.
Marriage
She added: “I wish people had actually come forward earlier to say that ‘actually we’d like you to support it'”.
However, explaining her opposition to gay marriage last year, Morgan said that marriage “to me, is between a man and a woman”.
The Conservative MP said she is now “working hard” to pass legislation which will allow people to convert civil partnerships to same-sex marriages.
Commitment
She said that she “understands” people who accuse her of hypocrisy but she welcomes “absolutely anyone who enters into a commitment”.
Morgan was one of the Government ministers who voted against the same-sex marriage legislation last year.
The legislation has been described as a vote loser for the Conservative Party.
Councillors
Responding to a recent survey conducted by ComRes, 60 per cent of Conservative councillors said they disagreed with the Prime Minister’s push for gay marriage.
Nearly two-thirds of councillors said that legalising gay marriage did not make the Conservative Party more electable.
The survey also found that 58 per cent of councillors think redefining marriage will cost the party more votes than it gains at the next election.