One of the Lib Dems’ major achievements in coalition was giving same sex couples the right to marry. Today, it’s 10 years since the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 received royal assent. It would be another eight and a half months before the first marriages took place in England and Wales. Scotland would pass its own legislation on 4 February 2014.

Each of the Parliamentary stages saw mostly bright and cheerful vigils outside. The picture comes from the second reading in the Lords on 3rd June.

Brightness, positivity and reasonableness were the hallmarks of the campaign for same sex marriage. Unlike the official campaign to stay in the EU and the campaign for the alternative vote, the supporters of same sex marriage really, really loved what they were campaigning for. They created a happy atmosphere and responded with incredible patience and reasonableness to the often preposterous arguments put forward by opponents. The dire predictions that the passing of same sex marriage would lead to people wanting to marry their dogs have inevitably proved to be absolute rubbish.

The main driver in Government for this legislation was our own Lynne Featherstone. Just after she was appointed Equalities Minister, she went to training organised by the Institute for Government. She was advised to pick one thing she wanted to do and drive it through. She chose same sex marriage. She took the idea to then Home Secretary Theresa May who backed it. Although she had been moved from the Home Office to International Development by the time the Bill finally passed, she did all the ground work.

You wouldn’t think so by the way David Cameron keeps crowing about same sex marriage, even though half his MPs didn’t even vote for it. On Twitter yesterday, Lynne said:

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the passing of the Same Sex Marriage Act – my happy place in politics. Read ‘Equal Ever After’ to learn the true story. Spoiler – it wasn’t David Cameron’s idea! Most is owed to the LGBT campaigners who fought for decades – they’re the heroes.

— Lynne Featherstone (@lfeatherstone) July 16, 2023

Lynne wrote the story of same sex marriage in her 2016 book Equal Ever After which I reviewed here.

The book itself is as pithy, outspoken, informative and passionate as you would expect from Lynne and it’s one of those books that every Liberal Democrat, or everyone who’s interested in LGBT rights, or coalition politics has to read.

Lynne talks of the delivery of same sex marriage as being her happy place in politics. It’s a reminder of how far we came in such a short time. The was not an issue that was in the coalition agreement – and it was only even party policy in Scotland. It wasn’t until September 2010 that Federal Conference voted on it. Just 3 and a half years later, the first weddings took place.

There were highs and lows along the way. There are also some interesting insights into the workings of the coalition. Why did she get told off by Theresa May and how did she react? Which Liberal Democrat “flounced”? What dramas did she have to go through to make the announcement to Conference? How did she keep same-sex marriage on track when the Tories look flaky?

All these questions and more are answered. Occasionally, when you are reading it, you jump a bit and you have to check that she really, really said THAT in print.

There’s serious stuff, too. Lynne writes about tense meetings with Governments with repressive anti-gay laws and her mission to tackle violence against women and girls across the globe.

If you haven’t read it, you can buy it here for a mere fiver.

Some of the most vociferous opposition to the Bill came in the Lords and it was our Liz Barker who had to deal with the wrecking amendments and often downright offensive comments. She wrote here about the final stage in the Lords:

The opposition have tabled amendments on all the issues which they had already raised at Committee Stage. You can follow them on Twitter today under the hashtag #hearditallbeforeDear (Lord Dear was, of course, the crossbench peer who attempted to wreck the legislation from the off).

First up is an attempt to create two definitions of marriage – one for straight people and one for same-sex couples. This goes right to the heart of the objective of the Bill, which is to create one equal definition of marriage. The whole purpose of this Bill is to treat all marriages with equal respect. Separate but equal is not good enough, so the majority of colleagues will oppose this amendment.

Second issue today is the proposal that registrars should be able to exercise freedom of conscience by refusing to conduct same-sex marriages and not lose their job as a result. Civil marriage is a public service which, under this legislation, will be available to heterosexual and same-sex couples. Implementation of the law should not be determined by individual public servants acting according to their personal beliefs. There are no conscience clauses in other equalities legislation – and rightly so. Registrars, whose professional body has held consultations, do not want this. They want to serve the public and do a good job for everyone. So again, the majority of colleagues will be strongly in support of full equality.

After the debate, Liz wrote for us about the importance of the Bill:

In the Lords, I have been proud to lead from the Lib Dem benches whilst Lib Dem Ministers, including Jim Wallace and Lindsay Northover, have been speaking from the Government frontbench. You can read and watch my opening contribution to the Second Reading debate on the Bill, here and here (skip ahead to 16:01).

We have helped to comprehensively refute the various arguments put forward by those who would perpetuate discrimination against LGBT people and their families. In fact the Liberal Democrat group, in proportion to our numbers, has had the largest turnout in support of the Bill at every stage. We have been greatly helped by our staff and many party members.

Of course Liberal Democrats campaigned for LGBT equality long before it was fashionable to do so. We were often vilified, but we stuck to our principles and never gave up. Those of us who speak openly and freely on these issues today are conscious of the debt we owe to those who flew the flag when society was much less tolerant.

When the legislation is passed there will still be work still to do. No doubt the groups who have campaigned against the Bill will dig into their deep pockets to bring legal challenges. They must be opposed and reminded that religious organisations will, of course, be under no obligation to act in ways which are incompatible with their own doctrine.

All communities will have to come to terms with a society in which LGBT people and their families are entitled to the respect and dignity enjoyed by others. Liberal Democrat councillors, school governors and members of faith groups will have an important part to play in building and strengthening inclusive communities.

Almost a year after the Bill was passed, I was thrilled to be at Ed Fordham and Russell Eagling’s marriage in Hampstead. Lynne was there as one of the guests of honour. It was fabulous to see Ed and Russell so happy and to know that we as a party had played such a pivotal role in ensuring that the law recognised that love is equal.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings