One of Britain's first openly gay MPs has criticised Government plans to allow same-s*x couples to get married as a petition opposing the move has attracted more than 400,000 signatures.
Former Labour minister Ben Bradshaw said the controversial move was 'pure politics' and insisted that Britain's gay community did not need the word 'marriage'. His comments came as the petition on the No 10 website which supports keeping the institution of marriage between husbands and wives went over the 400,000 mark.
The petition, launched by the Coalition for Marriage (C4M), has now been signed by more people than voted in last year's local elections in either Birmingham or Manchester. Mr Bradshaw, who is in a civil partnership, said that Mr Cameron was pushing through the plans in a bid to show how the Conservative party has modernised. He told the Washington Post:
'This is more of David Cameron trying to drag the Conservatives kicking and screaming into the modern world.' Mr Bradshaw insisted that Labour would support the plans, but he added: 'This is pure politics on their part. This isn't a priority for the gay community, which already won equal rights with civil partnerships.
