REFNATION

refnation comes to Android on Friday 9 October. Pre-register for launch day.

PRE-REGISTER
Does marriage equality strengthen British society?
RightsEnded 15 Jul

Does marriage equality strengthen British society?

Yes 68%No 32%112 votes cast

Same-gender marriage has been legal in England and Wales since 2014, in Scotland since 2014, and in Northern Ireland since 2020. Over 10,000 same-gender marriages now occur annually across the UK, with public support consistently around 70-80% in polls. The policy allows gay couples full legal equality in marriage while religious organisations retain opt-out rights.

Jump to opinions

What's notable here is less the margin than its shape: this is a verdict without much of a culture-war contour left in it. Marriage equality has been law for over a decade, and the vote reads like an settled question being reaffirmed rather than fought over again, yes carrying every age group and both sexes comfortably.

The closest thing to a divide is generational, but it barely deserves the name — the 25-34s were the most convinced of any cohort, while the 35-44s and 45-54s, the parents-and-mortgages generation, were the most reluctant, dipping to around six in ten. That's a gap of degree, not direction: even the most sceptical bracket still landed clearly on the Yes side.

The result tracks the polling record on this issue for years — support in the 70-80% range whenever pollsters have asked since 2014 — suggesting the platform's self-selected crowd, for once, isn't far from the country it claims to sample. Where other rights questions split Britain down tribal lines, this one, a decade on, mostly just gets a shrug of agreement.

The rare referendum where the story is the absence of a story.

68%
Yes
majority
32% No
Votes112
Skipped0
You—

% voting yes, by leaning

100% yes among H. Left voters, 4 of them
94% yes among Left voters, 17 of them
89% yes among C. Left voters, 18 of them
68% yes among Centre voters, 19 of them
46% yes among C. Right voters, 13 of them
55% yes among Right voters, 29 of them
29% yes among H. Right voters, 7 of them
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
LeftCentreRight
  • Chris· 507
    The Democratic Socialist
    YES
  • R
    The Discipline Capitalist
    NO
  • warden· 42
    The Worker's Conservative
    NO
  • O
    The Security Realist
    YES
  • The Public Ownership Dissenter
    NO
  • The Consensus Leftist
    YES
  • The Hawk Who Doubts the War
    NO
  • R
    rh79· 581
    The Labour Industrialist
    YES
  • The Kingmaker
    YES
  • Migano· 48
    The Left-Leaning Pragmatist
    YES
Spread the wordShare
Debate

0 Opinions

Sign in and vote to share your opinion.

Weigh in on the debate.