The Northern Ireland Assembly is unlikely to move on the issue of same-sex marriage despite a vote in favour by Belfast City Council.
In a motion introduced by Emmet McDonough-Brown of the Alliance Party, the council supported a call for the introduction of same-sex marriage legislation by 38 votes to 13. The vote was opposed by all council members aligned to the Democratic Unionist Party and all but three members of the Ulster Unionists, while all Sinn Fein members voted in support, and all but two SDLP members also supported the motion.
In introducing his motion, Councillor McDonough-Brown pointed out that Northern Ireland remains the only region on the islands of Ireland and Britain now to bar same-sex marriage and said the North was “a backwater and an embarrassment” in this regard.
However, the councillor’s words and the vote are likely to carry little weight with the Stormont Assembly which has roundly defeated same-sex marriage motions no fewer than four times over the last three years.
On the last occasion, during a debate in April prompted by the introduction of the issue by Sinn Fein, 96 MLAs voted, with 49 against the motion and 47 in favour. Support and opposition were along the same party lines as demonstrated at the most recent council vote, with the greatest opposition to a legislative change coming from unionist ranks, with just four of 53 voting in favour.