David Cameron appoints second anti-gay marriage MP Caroline Dinenage as equalities minister
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Version 0 of 1. After appointing a Justice Secretary who said we should bring back hanging and a Culture Secretary who calls the BBC licence fee a “poll tax”, David Cameron has kept up the controversy with his more minor ministerial announcements. The Prime Minister has named Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport, as both under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice with Michael Gove and a minister for equalities under Nicky Morgan at the Department for Education. Yet like her superior Ms Morgan, Ms Dinenage voted against gay marriage in July 2013. At the time, she reportedly said banning same sex marriage would “take nothing away from their relationships” and that the “state has no right” to intervene in such matters. Ms Morgan has since said she’s changed her mind on gay marriage and that she “probably would” vote in favour if it were to go before Parliament now (the law was passed anyway, by 355 ayes to 175 nays). In a statement issued by the Department for Education, Ms Dinenage admitted there might be "concerns" about her voting record but said: “I am fully committed to advancing the cause of LGBT equality and support the law on same sex marriage.” Among his other Cabinet appointments, Mr Cameron named Priti Patel as employment minister – a Eurosceptic who has also called for the return of hanging. The full reshuffle details can be found here. |