Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has declared that the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the UK was a “mistake”, stating he did not support the move at the time.
Speaking during a phone-in segment on LBC with presenter Nick Ferrari, the Clacton MP reiterated his opposition to the legislation passed in 2013, which led to the first same-sex weddings in 2014.
“It is a settled issue. I didn’t support it. I thought it was wrong to introduce it to the public without even putting it in a manifesto,” Farage said. “I was very surprised that David Cameron did that. I thought the civil partnership arrangement that we had was actually working equitably and fairly.”
He added, “So I thought the work that was done was wrong, but look, we have moved on.”
Farage’s latest remarks echo statements he made in 2014, when he opposed same-sex marriage under the European Court of Human Rights. “Come out of Europe, and we can have a sensible debate about same-sex marriages and how we conduct it,” he said at the time.
He also warned of potential legal battles involving the Church of England, suggesting it could be “forced to conduct gay marriages in those churches against the will of vast majority of churchgoers”.
The Reform UK leader has a history of controversial remarks about the LGBTQ+ community. In 2013, while leading UKIP, he defended party members with “old-fashioned” views on homosexuality, including those who labelled it “disgusting”.
In 2019, he made headlines again by suggesting people with HIV should not be allowed to enter the UK, arguing that the country was “incapable” of treating them due to immigration pressures.
Farage has also claimed that Margaret Thatcher’s leadership marked a time of “real advancement for gay people”, despite her government implementing Section 28—a law widely criticised for promoting anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination. When challenged on this, Farage defended the law, saying it was a response to “very, very extreme left-wing elements within the teaching union”.
Reform UK, currently polling strongly, has positioned itself against immigration, multiculturalism, and what it calls “divisive, ‘woke’ ideology.” In its policy platform titled Our Contract With You, the party claims that “transgender indoctrination is causing irreversible harm to children”.
