After the vote Roger said ‘I know from the large amount of correspondence that I have received that there are strong feelings held by people on both sides of the argument. I have consistently voted to eliminate any forms of discrimination on racial, religious or gender grounds and will do so in the future. I know, however, that a lot of older constituents feel very uneasy that the definition of an institution which they embraced when they married many years ago is now being redefined. I made it plain from the beginning that I shared these concerns and that is why I voted against the Bill.

This article appeared in the May edition of Roger's newsletter 'Postcard from Parliament'