Theresa May skipped vote on Northern Ireland marriage equality

British PM Theresa May recently told the LGBTIQ+ communities that she’s an “ally for life” but just days after her declaration she missed the vote on whether to allow marriage equality in Northern Ireland.

May make her promise to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Britons over the weekend, but she she was one of several high profile politicians who chose to sit out of the marriage equality vote. The lame-duck PM will soon be replaced by either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt, neither of them made the vote either.

Hunt has declared his support for marriage equality, while Johnson has been a long time opponent of allowing same-sex couples the right to wed. During a recent debate Hunt made a clear declaration in support of marriage equality in Northern Ireland, Johnson said the issue should be decided by Northern Ireland’s parliament.

The motion in the British parliament was successfully passed without the support of the missing-in-action political leaders. The Northern Ireland region currently does not have a functioning government, and the proposal passed by the British government will only come into effect if they fail to form a devolved government by 21st October.

OIP Staff