The Christian views of Theresa May and Tim Farron are way below the radar. And that’s how they like it

There’s a mischievous, not to say malicious, Twitter photograph of Theresa May circulating this morning. It shows her sporting shoulder pads and severely slicked-backed boyish hair, campaigning in the 1987 general election. On top of it someone has added the words: ‘Curbing the promotion of lesbianism in Merton’s schools starts with girls having male role models in their lives’.

Did she say it? No one can source the quote. But Mrs May, then as now a weekly churchgoing Anglican, did vote against the repeal of Section 28 in 2000. In those days she was an opponent of same-sex marriage, as was Tim Farron, also a weekly churchgoer.

Both the Prime Minister and the Lib Dem leader held this view for religious reasons, though they preferred not to be drawn into theological debate. Both have now decided that God is cool with gay marriage.