Conservative MP Criticises MPs Who Abstained In Gay Vote

A Conservative MP has criticised his fellow MPs who abstained in last week’s gay marriage vote in the House of Commons.

Positive vote: Theresa May.

Henry Smith, Tory MP for Crawley, has labelled MP’s who didn’t vote in last week’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill as “chickens”. A number of Conservative and Labour MPs abstained from the vote rather than voting for or against same-sex marriage. That has led them to be branded as “chickens” by Smith.

The Tory MP told the Crawley News “Abstaining is the chicken’s way out. I think that you are elected to sit in parliament and vote on these key issues. If you are asked a question, you owe it to the people who elected you to come up with an answer and not bottle out”

Smith also revealed that while he voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) he did so knowing he probably wouldn’t be on the winning side. “I voted the way I thought was right because civil partnerships afford the same legal rights as marriage..I never expected to win the vote but I don’t vote simply to be on the winning side.”

Mr. Smith was one of 136 Tory MPs to vote against gay marriage last week in the House Of Commons while 35 MPs within the party opted to abstain and 126 voted in favour including the likes of George Osborne and Theresa May. In all 400 MPs voted in favour with 175 voting against giving the bill a majority of 225.