This is politics . . .

The issue of Gay marriage has come to the forefront in the U.K. because of The PM's pledge to introduce it into law next year. It's an emotive issue for many, but in the context of my thoughts here it's just an example of what politicians and political parties sometimes feel they have to do, especially when they perceive they're being left behind by public opinion.

When David Cameron became Conservative Party leader, he set about trying to detoxify the Tory brand in the eyes of people who had voted for New Labour under Tony Blair or even the LibDems because they no longer felt comfortable voting Conservative. The Green agenda and the Big Society were among the results. It didn't quite work in the 2010 General Election, and with the economy set to scrape along the bottom through the next election in May 2015 any ballast that can be thrown overboard before then that might keep anyone from voting Tory is being targeted. The Republicans in the U.S. are going to have to do the same sort of thing in regard to immigration policy. 

But I think it's very important in both cases to understand that just trying to remove blockages to people voting for your party rather by default is not often enough to achieve victory. Labour will have to come up with positive policies before the next election that amount to more than "We're not Them". Likewise I believe the Conservatives will have to stop circling around the question of EU membership and adopt something like what has been called a Back to the Common Market or Out policy. As for the LibDems . . . I just don't know where they go from here. I imagine they will try to take credit for everything popular the Coalition has done (well, they already do that) and pin the rest on the Tories. But will that work? I doubt it.

Political parties do often stand on principles, but they generally don't like to sink with them. So while I'm personally opposed to homosexual marriage, I fully understand why it's a Conservative PM who is proposing it.