More than 420,000 people have now signed a petition opposing the government’s plans to redefine marriage.

The petition, launched by the Coalition for Marriage, was launched in February in response to the government’s plans to change marriage to include same-sex partnerships.

The latest numbers come as a ComRes poll reveals that 70 per cent of the public think marriage should remain between a man and a woman.

It also follows an interview by former Labour minister Ben Bradshaw, who described the government’s proposals as “pure politics”.

In an interview with the Washington Post, he said: “This isn’t a priority for the gay community, which already won equal rights with civil partnerships.” He added that the gay community “never needed the word marriage”.

Commenting on the 400,000 milestone, Colin Hart, campaign director for C4M, said: “The campaign is going from strength to strength and there is no sign of a slowdown in the number of people adding their names to the petition.

“I welcome the comments by Mr Bradshaw, who has hit the nail on the head when he said that the government is playing ‘pure politics’ with this issue. Civil partnerships already give the same legal rights to same-sex couples that marriage gives to heterosexual couples. This squashes the government’s major argument for forcing through this change.
 
“Many people are concerned about the proposed changes, their implications, the cost and why none of the three main political parties put this in their manifesto.”

Mr Hart continued: “The Prime Minister recently acknowledged that redefining marriage is a controversial proposal and that views against the proposal should be respected. I hope he stands by his words and respects the will of 400,000 British citizens who have made their opposition to this proposal clear.

“400,000 people have sent a loud and clear message to the government: Don’t meddle with marriage.”