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Pressure mounts on David Jones – now the bookies’ favourite to leave the Cabinet

February 16, 2013 1:59 pm

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Several newspapers have today followed up on our story from yesterday morning, when we told you that Tory Cabinet Minister David Jones had said:

“I regard marriage as an institution that has developed over many centuries, essentially for the provision of a warm and safe environment for the upbringing of children, which is clearly something that two same sex partners can’t do.”

Those comments have now been covered by The Guardian, The Times, The Sun, The Mirror, Daily Mail, The Independent, The FT, BBC News, Sky News, ITV and Pink News – and was the front page splash in the Guardian (below):

davidjonesguardian

As a result David Jones is now the bookies favourite to leave the cabinet at just 6/1. Yesterday morning you could have got 25/1.

Jones might not be a goner (yet) – but he’s certainly going to be coming under real scrutiny from now on…

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  • TomFairfax

    Does he feel a bit of a Monkee now, or just Low, Under Pressure, and hiding from journalistic Scary Monsters.

  • Daniel Speight

    I am fearful in stepping into this subject, but I would remind readers that the same sex marriage debate did have a free vote allowing MPs, including cabinet ministers, to vote their conscience. Do you really want to take this idea of free votes away, because that is what will happen if you go after everyone you disagree with like a pack of fox hounds.

    Now I will admit I come from a generation and an upbringing when same sex marriage doesn’t make a lot of sense, and probably my children feel far different about many things than I do. Even with that background I think that on reflection allowing gay couples to marry is a good thing.

    At the same time I can understand this Welsh Tory’s fears of children being adopted and raised by gay parents. It may well be a false fear, but it does exist. I’m thinking of the safety of a 16 year old boy adopted as a child by gay male parents with no blood ties reaching the age of consent.

    Now of course in many ways that is a false fear in that the same boy or girl could find him or herself in this position even with a mixed sex adopting couple as Woody Allen proved. Also we know child abuse does happen in some fostering and even worse incest happens in perfectly ‘normally’ married families.

    I don’t have the answer, only the fear. I was interested in a Scandinavian (Swedish I think) study extolling the benefits and successes of good and well financed care homes for orphans rather than looking for adoptions or fostering. Having been raised a catholic I would be careful of listening to that church’s views after the way it has dealt with its own abuse scandals.

    Still getting back to the point I started with, unless the person is going out of their way to denigrate a section of the population, maybe a more cautious, better argued response would be better. For those that feel extremely angry at what I have said please calm down and remember my generation will probably die out sooner than yours.

    • JoeDM

      What’s with the Woody Allen and “…perfectly normal married families”?

      Woody Allen and Mia Farrow were never married. Throughout their releationship they kept their separate homes. Just read the biographies or Wikipedia. Their relationship was hardly normal in any sense of the word.

    • JoeDM

      What’s with the Woody Allen and “…perfectly normal married families”?

      Woody Allen and Mia Farrow were never married. Throughout their releationship they kept their separate homes. Just read the biographies or Wikipedia. Their relationship was hardly normal in any sense of the word.

      • Daniel Speight

        Then Joe I stand corrected on the specific, but I suspect not on the general point.

        I just noticed the gap in my original between the Woody Allen and “… the next bit didn’t include the perfectly normal married families in the Allen-Farrow marriage, but instead they were classed as mixed sex adopting couple. Were you being dishonest on purpose JoeDM? If so that’s a bit low and obvious isn’t it? I’m a little surprised at such. You don’t work for one of those Tory party twitter accounts do you Joe, one of those under Guido’s mate Gove maybe?

      • Daniel Speight

        Then Joe I stand corrected on the specific, but I suspect not on the general point.

        I just noticed the gap in my original between the Woody Allen and “… the next bit didn’t include the perfectly normal married families in the Allen-Farrow marriage, but instead they were classed as mixed sex adopting couple. Were you being dishonest on purpose JoeDM? If so that’s a bit low and obvious isn’t it? I’m a little surprised at such. You don’t work for one of those Tory party twitter accounts do you Joe, one of those under Guido’s mate Gove maybe?

  • NT86

    How many other seats in Wales do the Tories have? Not many by my count, so who would be the replacement Welsh Secretary?

    Or maybe they’ll bring back Cheryl Gillan to the cabinet.

  • NT86

    How many other seats in Wales do the Tories have? Not many by my count, so who would be the replacement Welsh Secretary?

    Or maybe they’ll bring back Cheryl Gillan to the cabinet.

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