Judging by a recent article, Daily Mail columnist Dominic Lawson is quite confident Britain wouldn’t — couldn’t –have left the EU if Prime Minister David Cameron hadn’t been so intent on pushing through same-sex marriage.
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The column was published on the heels of Cameron’s resignation speech on Friday, in which he called out marriage equality as one of his top achievements.
“In fact, these apparently unrelated matters are inextricably linked,” Lawson writes.
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If it were not for David Cameron’s decision to legalise marriage between people of the same sex – a measure I supported – Britain would not now be on her way out of the EU.”
The legalization of gay marriage, he argues, is what split the Conservative Party, luring those who were most opposed towards Nigel Farage’s UK Independence Party.
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This was seized on by Nigel Farage. I had lunch with UKIP’s leader at that time. I recall … how gleeful he was at the way the gay marriage row was sending shire Tories in droves to switch to UKIP membership.
‘Though Farage himself is a libertarian, and definitely no moralist, he exploited this to the full.”
So, Lawson speculates, in order to get this contingent back on his side (and avoid possibly losing seats to UKIP in 2015), Cameron’s only recourse was to offer an in-or-out referendum on EU membership.
He suspects Cameron is now thinking, “If it hadn’t been for gay marriage, I would not now be facing this ruination.”
Do you think gay marriage and Brexit are “inextricably tied”? Weigh in in the comments below.
Bob LaBlah
Now their blaming gay marriage? Why am I not surprised? They started off blaming Trump and his now ignorant rhetoric about immigration and how it is spilling over into E.U itself but now they’ve stooped to blaming us?
Poloboy50
Nigel Farage, leader of the Independent Party, last week said that Obama’s chiding in April of Britons to remain in the EU was one factor that influenced their vote to leave.
Obama’s anti-Brexit remarks “backfired,” Farage said last week. “We got an Obama-Brexit bounce, because people do not want foreign leaders telling them how to think and vote. A lot of people in Britain said, ‘How dare the American president come here and tell us what to do?’”
DistingueTraces
No, it didn’t.
martinbakman
Of course! 😉
gayhope1990
They’re looking for scapegoats and gay are the first targets.Politicians…
Tobi
Lawson’s an idiot from a family of idiots, I mean Nigella anyone?! It was uncontrolled, unlimited migration that was the issue and will remain an issue for countries in the EU. The UK won’t be the only country to leave, I’d put money on the Netherlands, although Sweden and even France could well be next.
JessPH
No, it was migration and ridiculous EU regulations on almost everything.
DCguy
Except for the fact that every pro leave person interviewed attacked immigrants, not gays.
DCguy
And hey, Europe (And U.S.)
You don’t like refugees coming to your country? Well maybe stop voting for people that want to go bomb the shit out of other countries to create millions of refugees.
Kangol
@DCguy: Thank you! The same people who rant against refugees are often the same people who want endless wars in the Middle East and elsewhere. You can’t have it both ways!
Kangol
@Bob LaBlah: Well stop supporting the #G0P which has been a hardcore promoter of globalization, “free trade” (which is anything but “free”), outsourcing, and massive immigration to enrich businesses at the expense of the middle classes. If you keep playing their game things are only going to get worse! Your boy Trumpie employed undocumented workers to build his NY towers and is requesting massive H-1B visas in Florida. Look beyond the emotional rhetoric and see how you’re being played. The same is true with the Tories in the UK.