Varadkar distances himself from Chambers referenda comments

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he votes in line with how he campaigns, after a coalition party politician revealed they did not support the recent defeated referenda.

It comes after Fianna Fail senator Lisa Chambers said she voted no in both referenda, despite the coalition parties campaigning for two yes votes.

Ultimately, the two constitutional amendments put forward by the Government were overwhelmingly rejected over the weekend.

The family amendment, which proposed extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on “durable” relationships, lost 67.7% to 32.3%.

The care amendment, which proposed deleting references to a woman’s roles and duties in the home and replacing it with a new article acknowledging family care, lost 73.9% to 26.1%.

The care vote is the highest “no” vote in any Irish referenda.

Last month, Ms Chambers was added to Fianna Fail’s ticket for the Midlands-North-West European Parliament elections.

She has been criticised for the revelation regarding her vote against the amendments as she had been filmed handing out leaflets for her party’s campaign in support of the proposed changes.

Speaking in Boston during a week of engagements in the US, Mr Varadkar told reporters: “I vote the way I campaigned.

“If I ask people to vote yes, I vote yes. If I ask people to vote no, I vote no. If I ask people to vote for a particular candidate, I vote for that candidate.

“That’s just the way I do things.”

Asked if he was confident the majority of the Fine Gael parliamentary party had supported the referenda, he replied: “The majority? Absolutely.”

Further pressed on whether any of his party colleagues had told him they had not voted in favour of the amendments, the Fine Gael leader replied: “Not yet.”