Today sees the supposedly devisive debate on allowing gay marriage in the UK. It has been compared to Leo Abse’s 1966 landmark Sexual Offences Bill.
During the presentation of the Bill to MPs in the Commons, Sir Cyril Osborne, who was regarded as its main opponent argued:
I claim that the sponsors of the bill have no mandate whatever for the measure. I hold in my hand the three party election manifestos. The Liberals, the Conservatives and the socialists did not put one word in their manifestos about this so-called homosexual reform. I therefore say that the sponsors have no mandate whatever for the bill. Why was there not a word in the party manifestos? We are all politicians and we have all sought votes. The framers of our manifestos knew full well that the ordinary people of Britain, to whom we go for our votes, would not have stomached this proposal.
Whether the electorate is now more accepting of gay marriage remains to be seen, but what is interesting is that nothing has changed in regard to Sir Cyril’s argument on manifestos.
We vote them in…..they do what they want!