Same-sex marriage campaigners have insisted that any deal to restore power-sharing in Stormont must include an end to the ban on gay marriage in Northern Ireland.



Thousands of activists marched through Belfast to demand the reform of a controversial voting mechanism that has blocked the law change. Demonstrators said they would not support a revived power-sharing executive if it was not accompanied by a radical overhaul of the petition of concern (PoC).

Up to 20,000 people, including former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, joined the protest on Saturday, according to Amnesty International. They chanted, “Change is on the way” and “You can’t stop change” outside Belfast city hall.

A majority of MLAs backed the introduction of same-sex marriage the last time it was debated on the floor of the assembly before the institutions collapsed almost 18 months ago, but the use of the PoC by the Democratic Unionists rendered that irrelevant.

The petition is designed to protect minority views in a post-conflict society. It means a proposal can only be passed in the assembly if a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalist MLAs support it, rather than a straightforward majority head count.

The DUP is not the only party accused of abusing the mechanism. Rivals have been criticised for deploying it on other issues that many claim have little to do with protecting minority rights.

The party has also said it is willing to scrap the petition entirely if others, including Sinn Féin, agree.

John O’Doherty, an activist with the Love Equality coalition campaigning for a law change, told the rally that any future deal between the DUP and Sinn Féin needed to include reform of the PoC.

In a blunt message to the prime minister, Theresa May, and the Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, he said human rights “could not be based on postcodes”. The UK government has come under pressure to legislate on the issue in the absence of power-sharing.

Labour MP Conor McGinn, who failed in a recent bid to change the law through a private member’s bill at Westminster, warned May: “The message from the thousands here today in Belfast is loud and clear. “We are on the right side of history. We will not give up. This is not going away. And we are going to win.”

Actor Bronagh Waugh called on May to “deliver on the promise of equality”. “It is unacceptable that your government is now colluding in the denial of human rights to people in Northern Ireland. We are not second-class citizens.”