Labour tries to defuse civil partnerships row – by backing government amendment

This morning, Labour was facing a rather awkward choice on the Same Sex Marriage Bill. This afternoon, the opposition party has turned the situation around so that it appears to be on the front foot. Initially the party needed to decide whether it would back Tim Loughton’s ‘wrecking amendment’ to introduce heterosexual civil partnerships, or whether to take heed of Maria Miller’s pleas and reject it. The first would have demonstrated that Labour does want equality in civil partnerships as well as in marriage. The second would have demonstrated that the party doesn’t want to delay the first gay wedding any longer.

But Yvette Cooper announced on the World at One this afternoon that rather than plump for one or the other in this unpleasant choice, the party was tabling its own amendment which calls for an immediate consultation on introducing heterosexual civil partnerships. You can listen to her here: