World News

British Prime Minister Gains Approval From LGBTQ Voters Because of Same-Sex Marriage Stance

British Prime Minster David Cameron * File Photo

LONDON, UK -- British Prime Minister David Cameron’s strong support for legalising same-sex marriage has greatly improved his popularity with the UK's LGBTQ voters since the last general election, according to a survey recently conducted by PinkNews.co.uk.

According to the polling results, although Cameron has alienated many within his own Conservative Party, he is now regarded as the best prime minister for the country among LGBTQ voters. This change in perception is significant as a majority of Britain's LGBTQ voters prefer the Labour Party over the Tories, (Conservatives.)

PinkNews surveyed a panel of 864 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered voters, and found that the Tories had boosted their rating from 11 to 30 per cent since the last election. If an election were held now, 38 per cent would vote Labour, 30 per cent Conservative, 13 per cent Liberal Democrat and nine per cent Green. At the 2010 election, 39 per cent of the panel supported the Liberal Democrats, 27 per cent Labour, 11 per cent the Tories and six per cent the Greens.

When panel members were asked who they would prefer to be prime minister, 47 per cent said Mr Cameron, 42 per cent Mr Miliband and 11 per cent Nick Clegg. While Mr Cameron’s popularity has soared, The Deputy Prime Minster, Mr Clegg’s, strong backing for same-sex marriage appears to have done him or his Liberal Democrats party little good.

Almost two out of three (64 per cent) polled said that they either liked the Conservatives a little or a lot more since Mr Cameron proposed introducing same-sex marriage – 48 per cent a little and 16 per cent a lot. Some 34 per cent said it had not changed their opinion of the party.

Benjamin Cohen, PinkNews' publisher noted:

“By proposing same-sex marriage, David Cameron has unquestionably improved the standing of the Conservative Party among the gay community. However, what’s most interesting is that he is considerably more popular than his party within our community.
“This perhaps reflects the fact that many of the most vocal opponents of introducing this final act of equality for gay people have been Conservative MPs, some of whom represent and have angered the very people who voted in the poll.”

There were similar results in a separate survey of 1,432 PinkNews readers. Some 42 per cent would now vote Labour, 30 per cent Conservative, 10 per cent Liberal Democrat and 10 per cent Green.

Another recent poll conducted for another British media outlet, the Guardian newspaper, found that 62% of all voters support gay couples being given the right to marry. A record 52% of Conservative supporters say they are in favour of David Cameron’s proposals. The poll found that 67% of Labour voters support equal marriage, 71% of Liberal Democrat voters agreed and 52% of Conservative voters support David Cameron’s proposals. Just 42% of Conservative voters were opposed to the move giving the support for the policy a clear majority.

The poll also found that 62% of voters said that they supported gay weddings in the Church of England.