Davidson highlights NI equal marriage fight

Ruth Davidson has hinted at concerns with Theresa May’s plan to work with the DUP, highlighting opposition to its stance on equal marriage.

The Scottish Conservative leader campaigned for Unionists in Northern Ireland to drop opposition to same-sex marriage, and responded to questions on social media by tweeting a link to a 2016 speech calling for a change.

Ms Davidson is engaged to her partner, Irishwoman Jen Wilson. Yesterday she tweeted: “As a Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic, here’s the Amnesty Pride lecture I gave in Belfast.”

In it she called for Northern Irish residents to be “afforded the same rights as everybody else”.

“I think Unionists and Pres- byterians should feel they have moral permission to back equal marriage,” she said. “Not just because it’s no threat to traditional marriage or freedom of religion – but also because we know that it has backing from all parts of society: men, women, Catholic, Protestant, old, young, urban, rural, and we know that in the [Northern Ireland] Assembly, members from across the parties support it.”

DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr has claimed homosexuality is “immoral, offensive and obnoxious”, while leader Arlene Foster has criticised gay rights campaigners.

Asked about the DUP deal, Ms Davidson said: “We need to ensure that as the parliament reconvenes in Westminster, the Government brings forward a Queen’s Speech on the 19th and I support all efforts to do that.”