'Gay marriage will be generally accepted'

Three senior Conservative ministers have made a late appeal to party MPs to drop any opposition to plans to allow gay marriage in England and Wales.

It comes ahead of a Commons vote on the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.

Ben Page, the chief executive of Ipsos Mori, told Today presenter Justin Webb that this "will be seen as rather a quaint debate in 50 years time."

He explained his view that "most people... will be in favour of David Cameron's position but it is not something that people in Britain will be terribly excited about."

"I suspect that this will become something that will be generally accepted," he added.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, external on Tuesday 5 February 2013.