Journalist told not to ask Nicky Morgan about equal marriage

Special advisers for Education and Equalities minister Nicky Morgan reportedly asked the Evening Standard not to ask about same-sex marriage – which the Loughborough MP voted against – in a recent feature interview.

Morgan voted against the measure in 2013, stating that she believed marriage was between a man and woman. She later backtracked following her ministerial appointment last year, admitting that she would “probably” vote in favour of marriage equality if given the opportunity again.

Perhaps understandably keen not to draw attention to the disparity between her voting record and her current position as Minister for Women and Equalities, in a feature interview published by the London Evening Standard yesterday (July 15), journalist Rosamund Urwin reveals that Morgan’s team of special advisers specifically asked her not to raise the issue. Urwin wrote:

I’ve been asked by Morgan’s SPAD [special adviser] army not to ask her about same-sex marriage, which she voted against two years ago. Although she has changed her mind, she is still attacked for that — but she’s willing to address this. “If people stand up and say, ‘I’ve changed my mind’, I would hope people respect that… Judge me on my actions, not on the basis of one vote.”

Morgan’s comments echo those she made in a recent interview with attitude.co.uk, in which she said she wanted young Attitude readers to know that the government is “on their side”. The 42-year-old also spoke at length about her department’s plans to tackle homophobic bullying in schools – click here to read her interview in full.

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