Can leading politicians get away with opposing abortion and gay marriage?

What can politicians with socially conservative beliefs expect from public life? Is there now a faith glass ceiling under which lurks would-be party leaders whose views on abortion and homosexuality are just too unpalatable for voters? If there is one, Jacob Rees-Mogg might have a good chance of telling us where it is located. The alleged contender for the Tory leadership told Good Morning Britain today that abortion was ‘morally indefensible’ in any circumstances and that he opposed same-sex marriage because ‘marriage is a sacrament and the decision of what is a sacrament lies with the Church not with Parliament’.

William Hill has already cut the North East Somerset MP’s odds from 5/1 to 7/1. Of course, we already know what happens to people who hold conservative Christian views and aspire to lead their parties: Tim Farron stood down from the Lib Dem leadership after the snap election, complaining bitterly about the ‘suspicion’ that was directed at him during that campaign.