On the evening of 9 July, the House of Commons passed two amendments that will see the government legislate for equal marriage and a liberalised abortion law in Northern Ireland after 21 October, on the condition that the devolved government in Stormont has not been restored by this date.
The marriage amendment was put forward by Labour MP Conor McGinn, while his party colleague Stella Creasy MP put forward the abortion rights amendment.
The equal marriage amendment passed by 383 to 73 and the abortion amendment was backed 332 to 99.
The issue of abortion rights in Northern Ireland, which has a much more restrictive law than the rest of the United Kingdom, has long been a controversial one. However, with the liberalising of the law in the Republic of Ireland in 2018, there has been renewed campaigning led by groups such as Alliance for Choice. The campaign for marriage equality in Northern Ireland has been spearheaded by the Love Equality coalition.
MPs from the Democratic Unionist Party have criticised the amendments for undermining devolution in Northern Ireland, but Conor McGinn, originally from Co. Armagh, has contended that the party should see it as an “incentive” to cooperate with other Northern Irish parties to restore Stormont.
Irish in Britain raised awareness about equal marriage rights when we co–hosted a conference in November 2018 with London Irish LGBT Network entitled LGBT Equality and Ireland: Past and Present. The event was the first of its kind as speakers came together to discuss Irish LGBT migration.
We asked some of the speakers at the conference for their reactions to the amendments.
Conor McGinn, who is also chair of the All–Party Parliamentary Group on Ireland and the Irish in Britain, said: “This week marked a historic day on the long road of civil rights in Northern Ireland. It is right that any person will be able to now marry the love of their life in Belfast just as has been the case in London, Dublin, Cardiff or Edinburgh.
“I remain a passionate supporter of devolution and want nothing more but for Stormont to be up and running and legislating for the people and needs of all in Northern Ireland; but equal rights delayed are equal rights denied.
“While the legal change came via parliament, the Love Equality campaign has long since been a grassroots one. It is a credit to many groups, including Irish in Britain whose special conference I spoke at last November, who ultimately helped encourage enough MPs in the House of Commons that the issue of equal rights for all in Northern Ireland could wait no longer.”
Speaking after the vote in Westminster, Clare Moore, who works for Irish Congress of Trade Unions which is part of the Love Equality coalition, said: “We are still on a high following on from Monday’s vote. Although there is a long way to go, it was nevertheless such a validation to know that MPs support equality for LGBT+ people and our families in Northern Ireland. That support reflects the fantastic solidarity we have been shown by the Irish community in Britain in general and in particular by Irish in Britain.
“I was really honoured to have been invited by Irish in Britain to speak on behalf of Love Equality at their LGBT conference in November. It was a great opportunity to highlight the fact that Northern Ireland still doesn’t have marriage equality and we got great feedback from the day.”
In response to the votes Dr Joseph Healy, Treasurer and former Chair of London Irish LGBT Network, said ”The news that Conor McGinn, supported by many progressive MPs, has been successful in having marriage equality legalised in the face of opposition from the DUP is a great day for the Irish LGBT community on both sides of the border!
“The London Irish LGBT Network has been campaigning with Love Equality in Northern Ireland and Irish in Britain on this issue for some time and Conor, together with Claire Moore from Love Equality, spoke at the joint conference with Irish in Britain on the marriage equality issue last year.
“We also welcome the legalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland. I’m sure that all of the Irish LGBT community in Britain will regard this as another important victory in the march towards equality in Ireland!”
Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham, told us: “It has been a historic week for the people of Northern Ireland. This progress has only been possible by the hard work of tireless activists in Northern Ireland and the diaspora.
“I saw that work in action at the Irish in Britain conference last year. I said we must support the campaign for equal marriage and I’m delighted that everyone on the island of Ireland will now be able to marry their partner. We have made major strides in LGBT+ representation and equality, but we still have so much more work to do.”
You can read more about our conference here.