Stevenage’s MP has been accused of hypocrisy by some members of the online community, after they challenged his previous voting record on same-sex marriage.

Stephen McPartland had tweeted a message at the beginning of Pride Month, which is recognised every year in the UK at the start of June and celebrates the country’s LGBTQ+ community.

In his message, he said: “At the start of #PrideMonth it is important to remember there is no room for intolerance, racism or anti semitism in our society. We should all respect and be kind to one another.”

But replying to this, some people pointed out his previous voting record on same–sex marriages – suggesting his message was being hypocritical.

Using TheyWorkForYou.com, a website that monitors MPs votes in Parliament, Twitter users said that Mr McPartland’s message was out of touch with his previous voting record.

Replying to Mr McPartland’s message, Lauren Ball tweeted: “So generally voting against equality was the old you? Glad to see you’ve had a change of heart and your future voting won’t be so archaic.”

Another Twitter user added: “Your voting record tells a different story unfortunately.”

We asked Mr McPartland why he voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act in 2013 and if he thought that his previous actions contradicted his message of support.

In response, he argued that TheyWorkForYou groups its data inaccurately and did not tell the full story of the realities of Parliament.

He added: “The Comet is misinforming and misleading its readers once again. This Act [Marriage Same Sex Couples Act 2013] actually prevented equality for all couples by refusing to extend civil partnerships to hetrosexual couples.

“The Supreme Court ruled the Act was discriminatory in 2018 and Parliament had to amend it in 2019 to ensure all couples had equal rights.

“Lazy reporting, intolerance, political bias and social media toxicity meant there was a five year wait before all couples had the same rights, instead of being dealt with at the time.”

A BBC report from 2013 confirms that Mr McPartland voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.