2016 Witney by-election 2016 Witney by-election The Witney by-election was a UK parliamentary by-election held on 20 October 2016 in the constituency of Witney in Oxfordshire. It took place on the same day as the Batley and Spen by-election. They were the fifth and sixth by-elections of the 56th UK Parliament. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) David Cameron on 12 September 2016. The election was won by Conservative Robert Courts with a reduced majority, and the Liberal Democrats came in second with an increase in vote share of 23.4 percentage points. David Cameron had
David Cameron couples in a 2005 speech, and in October 2011 urged Conservative MPs to support gay marriage. In November 2012, Cameron and Nick Clegg agreed to fast-track legislation for introducing same-sex marriage. Cameron stated that he wanted to give religious groups the ability to host gay marriage ceremonies, and that he did not want to exclude gay people from a "great institution". In 2013, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 became law despite opposition from more than half of his fellow Conservative MPs, including Cabinet ministers Owen Paterson and David Jones. He also subsequently appointed two women who had voted