MONMOUTH MP David Davies is insisting the rights of parents and churchgoers must not be eroded following the decision to approve gay marriage in England and Wales.

A key House of Commons debate on Tuesday saw the UK government's Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill voted in by 400 to 175, a majority of 225.

Mr Davies was among those who refused to back the Prime Minister's plans.

He said he opposed the bill not because he was against equal rights but because there were other aspects he felt had not been considered.

"I strongly believe we should all respect the rights of gay couples and oppose discrimination, although it would be nice to see a similar understanding of the rights of parents and church groups," he said.

"In my view, churches should have the right to practise their faith as they see fit. Yet there are many people who want to force churches to hold gay weddings against their will.

"It is inevitable that someone will try to do this using the European Court of Human Rights. For all the talk of safeguards, the government can have no influence over rulings from the Court in Strasbourg."

Mr Davies said an important question for him was if the European Court decides that churches should be forced to conduct gay wedding ceremonies, would the government be prepared to defy the ruling.

"I put this point directly to the Minister in the debate and she was not able to give the assurances I wanted," he said.

Mr Davies fears the rights of parents will also be eroded, as schools may have to change the way they undertake sex education classes and teach about relationships.

"As a parent, I believe I have rights and one of them is to have some say over how my children are taught. That right is eroded by this bill," he said.

Prior to government proposals on same-sex marriage, Mr Davies said "not one person" had ever contacted him to ask for gay marriage to become law.

"Everyone seemed to think that civil partnerships were fine. We have now created a division where none existed," he said.

"I have only spoken to David Cameron on a few occasions but if I see him again before the general election, I will encourage him now to concentrate on implementing more of the issues which were actually in the Conservative manifesto, such as a tax break for married couples."