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A protester at a demonstration for equal rights for gay couples in Trafalgar Square on March 24, 2013/AFP

World

British PM survives gay marriage vote

Grassroots Conservative supporters fear that with a general election two years away, Cameron’s backing for gay marriage is driving traditional Tory voters to the UK Independence Party (UKIP).

They are all the more anxious because UKIP had its best ever electoral performance last month when it made gains in local elections.

A letter signed by more than 30 current and former Conservative local party chairmen and handed to Cameron on Sunday gave a taste of the bitterness in Tory ranks.

They accused him of “treating the membership with contempt” over the issue.

“The bill could cost us the election… therefore, prime minister, for the sake of the well-being of the country and the integrity and future success of the party, we urge you not to continue with your policy of re-defining marriage,” it said.

Over the weekend, a member of Cameron’s inner circle fiercely denied claims that he had branded grassroot party members as “mad, swivel-eyed loons”.

Party co-chairman Lord Andrew Feldman, a schoolmate of Cameron’s at the elite Eton College, has strenuously denied rumours linking him with the comments and said he was considering legal action.

To try to calm the waters, Cameron issued a message to all Conservative party members on Monday praising their work .

“I am proud of what you do,” he said. “And I would never have around me those who sneered or thought otherwise. We are a team, from the parish council to the local association to Parliament, and I never forget it.”

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Conservative backbenchers’ fears over the rise of UKIP prompted around 114 Tory MPs last week to back a motion in parliament expressing regret that the coalition government’s plans for the year contained no guarantee of a referendum on EU membership.

On Saturday, France became the 14th country to legalise gay marriage when Socialist President Francois Hollande signed it into law, despite fierce protests from the main opposition right-wing UMP party.

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