Local election proves redefining marriage is a whopping vote loser

Whatever their political allegiances, millions of voters care about the real meaning of marriage. That’s what today’s local election results are saying. And the public has spoken loud and clear: redefining marriage is a catastrophic vote-loser.

As this video shows, we went to David Cameron’s own back yard in his Witney constituency on Tuesday to tell him it was a vote-loser, but the door remained firmly shut in our faces. He doesn’t want to hear what ordinary people are saying. Unlike him, we have been listening to the public and we know how much they care about keeping marriage as it is.

We asked the professional, independent polling company, ComRes, to conduct a robust survey before voters went to the ballot boxes. It showed that millions of voters are fed up with the Government messing around with marriage.

The polling showed that as far as these local elections were concerned the three biggest parties were all losing voters because they backed gay marriage. In particular, it predicted huge losses for the Conservative Party and historic gains for UKIP.

The poll results released last Tuesday night were so strong that they were greeted with disbelief by some. But today’s results show that the poll was spot on. Voters don’t want marriage to be redefined.

Election expert Professor John Curtice told the BBC this morning that the UKIP surge is down to voters who are socially conservative on issues like gay marriage.

C4M has been making the redefinition of marriage a big issue at local level. Two million homes have received a leaflet on why traditional marriage should be supported. In the run up to the local elections tens of thousands of “vote for marriage” leaflets were distributed and we asked our supporters to quiz local candidates on the issue.

Also this week, the Northern Ireland Assembly firmly voted in favour of traditional marriage – actually increasing the size of the winning margin compared to the last time it debated the issue.

We are winning the argument in the nation. We are shifting the debate. We are gaining people’s support. We can win this campaign, so let’s keep moving forward to keep the real meaning of marriage.