Legalising same-sex marriage discriminates against straight people, Tory MP Philip Davies claims

The Conservative MP said he supported 'real equality'

Conservative MP Philip Davies at committee (Rex Features)

Legalising same-sex marriage has made the institution of marriage unequal in a way that discriminates against straight people, a Conservative MP has said.

Asked why he voted against equal marriage in the last Parliament, Philip Davies argued that allowing same-sex marriage was in fact not “equal” at all.

“That Bill has nothing to do with equality, it’s actually now not equal marriage at all,” he told BBC Two’s Daily Politics programme.

“You can have civil partnerships and marriage for gay people. You can only have marriage for heterosexuals. It’s not equality.”

He accused supporters of same-sex marriage of having “a strange view of equality which is that the groups that [they support] should have more equality than other people”.

“I always vote in favour of true equality. I don’t agree with gay marriage, why would I vote for something I don’t agree with?” he said.

The Coalition Government lifted the ban on same-sex marriage in 2013, but some Conservative rebels, including Mr Davies, opposed the move.

Votes from Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs however carried the Government over the line, and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 was introduced into law.

The majority of provisions in the bill were brought into force in March 2014, at which point same-sex marriage became legal.

Mr Davies hit the headlines last week after he called for a parliamentary debate on International Men’s Day.

He is notable for his work blocking backbench legislation, having recently been criticised for blocking a law to stop carers being charged parking fees at hospitals, and a law that would require landlords to ensure their homes are fit for human habitation.