Here’s how Boris Johnson’s cabinet voted on equal marriage
Prime Minister Boris Johnson presides over his first Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on July 25, 2019. (Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty)
Nearly a third of Boris Johnson’s cabinet ministers voted against same-sex marriage.
Johnson made bold changes to the cabinet after becoming Prime Minister on Wednesday (July 24), sacking more than half of the members who served under ex-PM Theresa May and bringing in a wave of pro-Brexit ministers.
Strong opponents of LGBT+ equality including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel were handed jobs by Johnson.
Boris Johnson cabinet: Power shifts to Conservative hardliners
Analysis by PinkNews confirms that the cabinet includes more opponents of same-sex marriage than under the previous two Conservative leaders.
Boris Johnson’s Cabinet shows the shift of power within the Conservative Party
Of the 32 ministers serving in Johnson’s cabinet, nine voted against same-sex marriage and three abstained, while 13 cast votes in favour.
Seven, including Johnson, were not MPs at the time of the vote.
| Vote | Cabinet ministers |
| Yes |
Sajid Javid, Dominic Raab, Stephen Barclay, Matt Hancock, Theresa Villiers, Liz Truss, Alok Sharma, Grant Shapps, Amber Rudd, Julian Smith, Michael Gove, Brandon Lewis, Jo Johson
|
| No |
Priti Patel, Ben Wallace, Robert Buckland, Gavin Williamson, Nicky Morgan, Alun Cairns, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Geoffrey Cox, Esther McVey
|
| Abstained | Andrea Leadsom, Mark Spencer, Jake Berry |
| Not in Parliament |
Boris Johnson, Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, Alister Jack, Rishi Sunak, Oliver Dowden, Baroness Evans
|
Theresa May’s 2018 cabinet had seven ministers who voted against same-sex marriage, two who abstained, and 16 who voted in favour.
Only two of David Cameron’s cabinet ministers voted against equal marriage at the time of the vote.
| MP | Role | Vote |
| Boris Johnson | Prime Minister | Not in Parliament |
| Sajid Javid | Chancellor | Yes |
| Priti Patel | Home Secretary | No |
| Dominic Raab | Foreign Secretary | Yes |
| Stephen Barclay | Brexit Secretary | Yes |
| Ben Wallace | Defence Secretary | No |
| Matt Hancock | Health Secretary | Yes |
| Robert Buckland | Justice Secretary | No |
| Andrea Leadsom | Andrea Leadsom | Abstained |
| Gavin Williamson | Education Secretary | No |
| Theresa Villiaers | Environment Secretary | Yes |
| Liz Truss | International Trade | Yes |
| Alok Sharma | International Development | Yes |
| Nicky Morgan | Culture Secretary | No |
| Grant Shapps | Transport Secretary | Yes |
| Amber Rudd | Work and Pensions Secretary | Yes |
| Robert Jenrick | Housing, Communities & Local Government Secretary | Not in Parliament |
| James Cleverly | Party chairman | Not in Parliament |
| Julian Smith | Northern Ireland Secretary | Yes |
| Alun Cairns | Welsh Secretary | No |
| Alister Jack | Scotland Secretary | Not in Parliament |
| Michael Gove | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Yes |
| Baroness Evans | Lords Leader | Not in Parliament |
| Also attends Cabinet | ||
| Jacob Rees-Mogg | Commons Leader | No |
| Rishi Sunak | Chief Secretary to the Treasury | Not in Parliament |
| Mark Spencer | Chief Whip | Abstained |
| Geoffrey Cox | Attorney General | No |
| Esther McVey | Minister of Housing, Communities and Local Government | No |
| Brandon Lewis | Minister of State for Security | Yes |
| Jo Johnson | Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Education | Yes |
| Jake Berry | Minister for Cabinet Office | Abstained |
| Oliver Dowden | Paymaster General | Not in Parliament |
Every member of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet who was in Parliament in 2013 voted for equal marriage.
Six cabinet ministers backed extending equal marriage to Northern Ireland
Although Boris Johnson’s cabinet includes several strong opponents of LGBT+ rights, a number of cabinet ministers are strong proponents of equality.
On July 7, six of Johnson’s cabinet ministers – Matt Hancock, Liz Truss, Nicky Morgan, Amber Rudd, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom – joined a rebellion in favour of extending equal marriage to Northern Ireland, despite the government’s official stance of abstaining on the issue.
| Vote | Cabinet ministers |
| Yes | Matt Hancock, Andrea Leadsom, Liz Truss, Nicky Morgan, Amber Rudd, Michael Gove |
| No | Jacob Rees-Mogg |
| Abstained |
Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Stephen Barclay, Ben Wallace, Robert Buckland, Gavin Williamson, Theresa Villiaers, Alok Sharma, Grant Shapps, Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, Julian Smith, Alun Cairns, Alister Jack, Rishi Sunak, Mark Spencer, Geoffrey Cox, Esther McVey, Brandon Lewis, Jo Johnson, Jake Berry, Oliver Dowden
|
24 cabinet ministers including Johnson followed instructions to abstain on the issue, while Jacob Rees-Mogg cast his vote against.
Two of the ministers who rebelled in favour of the Northern Ireland measure, Nicky Morgan and Andrea Leadsom, had opposed equal marriage in England and Wales in 2013 but subsequently changed their views.
