Gay Marriage Push Should Be Abandoned, Say 71 Percent of Britain's Tory Party Grassroots Members
British Prime Minister David Cameron should drop his proposals to redefine marriage, according to a poll of his grassroots Conservative Party members.
The ComRes poll was commissioned by the Coalition for Marriage and found that a massive 71 percent of Conservative constituency chairmen believe Cameron should abandon his aggressive push to amend the definition of marriage of between one man and one woman.
The poll has also found that 47 percent of those polled believed that Cameron's liberal stance on gay marriage had come at a cost to the party.
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Furthermore, more than 70 percent believed that Cameron's push for same sex marriage regardless of what others felt had damaged the prime minister's standing in the party. Only 11 percent believed that his liberal agenda had enhanced his reputation within the party.
When it came to the considering the affect on the electorate, six in 10 of those polled believed that legalizing gay marriage would cost the Conservative Party votes. In comparison only four percent believed that a push for gay marriage would attract more voters.
Colin Hart, campaign director of the Coalition for Marriage has said: "What this latest poll reflects is the growing unease amongst grassroot Conservatives about the way the PM is trying to force through this policy without any electoral mandate and without any acknowledgement of the profound consequences this change will have."
The Coalition for Marriage has launched a petition against the move to redefine marriage, and so far it has attracted more than 600,000 signatures.
The Church of England and other religious organizations across Britain have also spoken out against the plans to redefine marriage.
However, despite the widespread opposition the Conservative Party has revealed a clear favoring for the introduction of gay marriage among its top leadership. Prime Minister David Cameron has made his liberal feelings well know. The Conservative Party Foreign Secretary, William Hague, as well as the Chancellor, George Osbourne, have also recently both said they will back the party's drive to redefine marriage.
Speaking on Sky News, Osborne said: "I support gay marriage. I support gay marriage because I believe Conservatives support the institutions of commitment."
Hague said: "I will support the prime minister's position... This is for every MP to decide for themselves and I think that is the right position on a conscience issue."
However, the liberal stance is not isolated to the governing Conservative Party. The party leaders of all three main British political parties support the drive for gay marriage. The Coalition government second-in-command, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, as well as opposition leader, Labour Party's Ed Miliband, are also in favor of same-sex marriage.
Coalition for Marriage's Colin Hart has said, "If the PM continues to press ahead with this deeply unpopular, radical and profoundly undemocratic proposal, then he can expect to pay the price for this at the ballot box."
He added, "The Prime Minister, who has made a virtue of ditching unpopular or disastrous policies, cannot ignore the mounting opposition to redefining marriage. This includes in his own constituency, his own party and increasingly in our country."
