Tory MPs think Cameron’s gay marriage plan may fail

The majority of Conservative MPs believe David Cameron’s controversial plan to redefine marriage could be doomed to failure, according to a new survey by ComRes.

The results come as the Coalition for Marriage’s petition in support of the traditional definition of marriage surged past 400,000 signatures. It is the largest petition in this Parliament.

According to ComRes, 37 per cent of Conservative MPs believe Mr Cameron’s contentious proposal is destined for failure. And an additional 22 per cent of Tory MPs said that they were unsure about its success.

“I think this fairly reflects the fact that there is a significant number of Members of Parliament, particularly Conservative Members of Parliament, who are concerned about whether we should legislate on marriage,” David Burrowes MP said.

“That is partly a reflection that there is deep concern from the constituencies.”

And Colin Hart, C4M’s campaign director, said: “The results of these polls show that Conservative MPs increasingly think that attempts by the Government to redefine marriage without any electoral mandate are looking uncertain and could well fail.”

He added: “The Prime Minister recently acknowledged that redefining marriage is a controversial proposal and that views against the proposal should be respected. I hope he stands by his words and respects the will of 400,000 British citizens who have made their opposition to this proposal clear.

“Most of the public suspect the government is forging ahead with its plan to change the definition of marriage to look fashionable and progressive. Marriage as we know it should not be sacrificed in the name of a government-sponsored vanity project.

“With ‘mother’ and ‘father’ already in danger of being replaced by ‘parent A’ and ‘parent B’, redefining marriage is yet another step down a slippery slope that risks unravelling the string that binds society together.”