I am absolutely determined that this Coalition government will follow in that tradition by legislating for gay marriage in this parliament.

I make that point not only as someone who believes in equality but as someone who believes passionately in marriage. I think marriage is a great institution—I think it helps people to commit, it helps people to say that they’re going to care and love for another person. It helps people to put aside their selfish interests and think of the union that they’re forming.

It’s something I feel passionately about and I think if its good enough for straight people like me, it’s good enough for everybody and that’s why we should have gay marriage and we will legislate for it…

I run an institution, the Conservative Party, which for many many years got itself on the wrong side of this argument, it locked people out who were naturally Conservative from supporting it and so I think I can make that point to the Church, gently…

I passionately believe that all institutions need to wake up to the case for equality, and the Church shouldn’t be locking out people who are gay, or are bisexual or are transgender from being full members of that Church, because many people with deeply held Christian views, are also gay. And just as the Conservative Party, as an institution, made a mistake in locking people out so I think the Churches can be in danger of doing the same thing.”