The leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster, has assured members of the LGBT community of her respect and asked that they respect her views on marriage in return. Ms Foster spoke at a PinkNews reception at Stormont and told the crowd: “Just because we disagree on marriage does not mean that I don’t value the LGBT community.”

She added: “It is not a zero-sum game. All I ask in return is that my, and our views, are also respected if not agreed with.”

Ms Foster told the gathering at Stormont she wanted to acknowledge and recognise the people who identify as LGBT even as she doesn’t define anyone by their sexuality, just as she doesn’t define anyone by their race or religion.

She continued: “I wanted to use this platform to encourage meaningful engagement rather than megaphone diplomacy. As a mature democracy, we must all enter into a new spirit of respectfulness and understand that we will not always agree but we will always try to treat each other with good manners and grace. For my part, I believe I can hold to my principled position, particularly in relation to the definition of marriage, whilst respecting the diversity across our society.”