“Last week the Same Sex Marriage Bill became law. As one of the many gay Tory MPs, who spoke in favour of the Bill and received press coverage, I wanted to put on record the invaluable work my colleague, Simon Kirby MP for Kemptown and Peacehaven undertook to get the Bill through Parliament.
There are many Parliamentarians who deserve a huge amount of credit for bringing about this historic change in the law. I want to take the opportunity to commend the work of MP Simon Kirby, because otherwise I fear that he may not get the credit he undoubtedly deserves.
I know that Simon is very proud to represent a constituency which is as diverse as Brighton Kemptown, and he has always been a strong voice for the LGBT community in Parliament.
Since the issue of same sex marriage came onto the political agenda last year Simon has worked tirelessly to get a Bill onto the floor of the House of Commons and put a great deal of effort into drumming up support amongst colleagues and steering the Bill through Parliament. As a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport he has a close working relationship with Maria Miller and Hugh Robertson which has enabled him to be a particularly effective advocate for equal marriage.
Much of this work is very much behind the scenes, and as such it is at risk of going unnoticed. However, I think it is important to acknowledge the contribution that Simon has made, which has gone a long way towards the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill achieving Royal Assent today. I noticed that Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill paid tribute to Simon yesterday, identifying him as “a dogged supporter of the right thing.” I would certainly echo that sentiment.
Now that the lengthy political process of getting a Bill into law is out of the way thousands of gay couples can look forward to planning their wedding ceremonies from next year. I know that there will be many happy couples in Brighton Kemptown making such plans, and they can be very proud of their hard-working local MP for standing up for their rights throughout the equal marriage debate.
Brighton Kemptown is not only a special place but it also has a very special MP!”
Mike Freer,
Conservative Member of Parliament for Finchley & Golders Green
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