Although there were many faces I expected to see at this reception it was also interesting to see some different people, like Hugh Grant and Stephen Fry.
Most of the time was spent networking and catching up with what different organisations are doing with a brief interlude to hear from Nick Clegg and be entertained by the choir ‘Diversity’.
I had the opportunity to speak to Nick and emphasis once again the importance of being allowed to have a religious marriage and this not being denied by those who do not wish to do so.
I also spent considerable time talking with both Lynne Featherstone and her successor, Maria Miller, and was pleased that the commitment to equal marriage remains the same.
Whilst noone was prepared to pre-empt the report from the consultation process which is due to be announced in November, the vibe was very positive.
Unfortunately Nick didn’t say a lot about the consultation or share anything new as most of his comments related to his recent use of the word ‘bigot’ for those opposed to equal marriage.
Whilst chatting with Hugh Grant I was reminded once again how little most people know about the differences between Civil Partnerships and Marriage and especially the social impact of these two institutions. This was very evident at the recent Greenbelt meeting, with a predominantly ‘straight’ audience, which tells me that there is still a lot of educating to be done.
