A prominent Conservative has broken ranks with his allies on the
"religious right" by declaring his support for the Government's
controversial plans to legalise gay marriage.
In an interview with The Independent, Tim Montgomerie dismissed
criticism that extending equal rights to gays and lesbians would weaken
marriage. He said Tories and church leaders should support gay marriage
because it would save the institution, not destroy it. "Marriage is
probably the most important Conservative institution and excluding
people from it is therefore excluding people from Conservativism to a
significant extent," he said.