Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, has signalled that the Government might be prepared to use the Parliament Act to get its planned “equal marriage” legislation on to the statute book if it is rejected in the Lords.
The Act, which has been used only seven times in the past century, is sometimes described as the “nuclear” option of parliamentary process to break stalemates between the Commons and the Lords. It asserts the superiority of the House of Commons by allowing Bills that cannot clear the Lords to become law, but is intended to be used only in exceptional circumstances.
The Act was last used by the Blair government to force through the ban on foxhunting after years of acrimony over the issue.
Despite predictions that almost half of Tory MPs will vote against same-sex marriage in a free vote, the proposal is likely to secure a majority in the Commons with the support of Labour and Liberal Democrat members. But the situation in the Lords is less clear, with almost equal numbers of Tory and Labour peers but a large independent contingent as well as 26 Church of England bishops.
Some peers have already predicted that the Bill could be sunk in the Lords even if it passes the Commons. Mrs Miller has been asked repeatedly in recent days whether she would rule out using the Parliament Act but has sidestepped the question by saying that she was confident the Lords would back the measure.
An official statement from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said only: “We do not foresee that this will be the case and have no plans to do so.”
David Cameron’s popularity among homosexual voters has risen since he backed same-sex marriage, according to a poll for Pink News, an online publication for homosexuals. Just 11 per cent voted Conservative at the last general election, but this would rise to 30 per cent if a vote were called tomorrow.
The Telegraph
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