Party to fight gay marriage proposed

OPPONENTS of gay marriage may consider setting up their own political party to channel discontent over the controversial reforms announced by the Scottish Government.

One model being considered by the Scotland for Marriage Campaign is the “Family First” party formed in Australia in 2001, which has championed conservative Christian causes, backing marriage and opposing abortion, sources say.

This comes after the SNP Government last week unveiled plans to press ahead with plans to legalise same-sex marriage in Scotland, possibly by as early as 2015.

The SNP Government has proposed a free vote, saying it is a matter of conscience, but with the leaders of Labour, the Lib Dems and the Scottish Conservatives all backing the reform, it is likely to go through at ­Holyrood.

Without any political party backing the status quo, the Scotland for Marriage campaign candidates could put themselves forward for election.

One source said: “The Family Party was formed in Australia for similar purposes and they have had some influence. There has been some discussion about that.”

The discussion comes after it emerged that two-thirds of the 77,000 people who replied to the con­sultation on same-sex marriage were opposed to the reform.

Muslim leaders warned last night that the decision would be likely to alienate voters from the political process now that they had seen ministers go against the majority opinion.