He voted against gay marriage and lowering the age of consent for LGBTI peopleUK Prime Minister David Cameron has elected John Whittingdale as the new culture secretary.
The former chair of the commons culture committee has voted strongly against gay rights, with him being one of the few to vote against same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
He also voted against lowering the age of consent for gay people back in 1998 and was against including sexual orientation in the Equality Act.
Whittingdale is just one of the new appointments made by Cameron in his new Conservative government following the UK General Election on Thursday (7 May).
His opposition will be out gay MP Chris Bryant, promoted to become Labour’s shadow culture secretary.
While he will not be in charge of LGBTI rights in particular, his influence could see the community getting less say in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
He is already expected to be in favor of being against the BBC license fee.
When he said he would be voting against same-sex marriage in England and Wales, he said he felt like it would cause ‘distress to many, particularly those with strong religious beliefs’.
Nicky Morgan, who was chosen to be education secretary and women and equalities minister in the 2014 reshuffle, will keep her position. While she voted against same-sex marriage as well, she later said she was ‘proud‘ of the progress LGBTI equality has made in the UK.
Some were not happy with Whittingdale’s appointment, including Father Ted creator Graham Linehan.