• Coalition's gay marriage bill passed with help of Labour

• David Cameron says it is 'a step forward for our country'

• A huge Tory rebellion failed to stop the laws

• Email me on rowena.mason@telegraph.co.uk or tweet me your thoughts @rowenamason



Latest

20.42 David Cameron took the modern option of responding to the vote on Twitter. He said:

Strong views exist on both sides but I believe MPs voting for gay people being able to marry too, is a step forward for our country.

20.25 Press Association is reporting that Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and Attorney General Dominic Grieve both abstained, along with housing minister Mark Prisk also did not vote. Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, voted against.

20.00 Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, also described it as a "proud day and an important step forward in the fight for equality in Britain".

19.45 Nick Clegg has described the vote as a "landmark for equality in Britain".

Tonight’s vote shows Parliament is very strongly in favour of equal marriage. No matter who you are and who you love, we are all equal. Marriage is about love and commitment, and it should no longer be denied to people just because they are gay.

The Liberal Democrats have long fought for equal marriage. It is party policy and I am proud that the Liberal Democrats are part of the Coalition Government that are making it happen.

I especially want to pay tribute to Lynne Featherstone, whose dedication and tenacity have been critical to making this happen.

19.15 The vote has been won by the Government by 400 to 175. It's quite a big Tory rebellion, though.

Tim Loughton, the children's minister, says more Conservative MPs voted against it or abstained than for it.

18.57 David Cameron is not in the chamber yet. Tim Ross, a Telegraph political correspondent, reports that George Osborne has just turned up, and is loitering behind the Speaker's chair. Iain Duncan Smith is in the same corner.

It's vote time!

18.51 The Speaker is expected to wrap up the debate and move to a vote soon. Here's an early link to Hansard with many of the speeches from earlier.

18.45 One Conservative ministerial aide, Therese Coffey, has been tweeting some historical facts from the chamber.

<noframe>Twitter: Therese Coffey - It was Henry VIII who criminalised homosexuality by law in 1533. Catholic Queen Mary repealed it. Elizabeth I reintroduced it</noframe>

She also contributed to the debate earlier with her reservations about the Bill, but ruffled some feathers by saying: "I'm not trying to say that the love between two same-sex people is evil."

18.36 Guy Opperman, Tory for Hexham, says the House of Commons is "on a journey" and he will support the legislation. He's one of a number of Conservatives standing up in favour of gay marriage after an earlier flurry of antis.

18.16 A few people have commented that David Cameron is absent from the Commons for the debate. He has responded by releasing a statement that gay marriage will "make our society stronger"

18.09 Gavin Barwell is another Conservative supporter of the bill, who would never vote for it if he though it undermined marriage. He says lots of people want to turn the clock back but for Tories to work they have to accept change.

Crispin Blunt, an openly gay Tory, has also spoken movingly of his own sexuality, saying he used to think there was something wrong with him that "had to be mastered".

17.44 Matthew Offord, a Tory MP for Hendon, opposes the bill because the Government has failed to think through the consequences. He has also raised the spectre of polygamy and bigamy as a potential future implication.

17.40 The debate has moved on to "the collapse of family life". Andrew Selous, a Tory MP for South West Bedfordshire, wants hundreds of MPs to come together to discuss marriage on more occasions.

He raises the fact that David Cameron once said Britain is a Christian country and questions whether this is being eroded.

Mr Selous claims the bill is "changing a foundational institution of our country".

17.35 The Tory MP for Battersea, Jane Ellison, says religious people do not own marriage. Stewart Jackson cannot object because he has already left the chamber after his incendiary speech.

17.31 In the midst of all this talk of blissful married couples, Tom McTague, political correspondent of the Daily Mirror wonders:

<noframe>Twitter: Tom McTague - Where are the MPs standing up for commitment-phobic philanderers? <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=equality" target="_blank">#equality</a></noframe>

17.27 The Northern Irish MPs are really standing up very fiercely against the bill. Ian Paisley Jr says it's against the nature of life and is not close to being on a par with marriage between a man and a woman.

He says marriage is not defined by love (although he hastens to add that he does love Mrs Paisley Jnr).

17.22 Sarah Wollaston, a Tory MP, says she has received a lot of "hateful" mail suggesting gay people need treatment. She says the word "marriage" matters to her as a non-believer and she wants gay couples to be able to share it. She says:

Homosexuality is not forbidden love and it is time this House recognised that. And that you cannot be a little bit equal.

17.15 Stuart Andrew has become the 10th (we think) openly gay MP to speak in this debate. The Tory MP for Pudsey says he has been coming to terms with his sexuality and faith for many years.

I want to live in a society that does not discriminate. But I do want to secure personal choice for marriage as well as religious freedom.

17.12 It seems David Cameron can't hope for much support from some of the minority parties. A DUP MP, David Simpson,has just called on the Government to pay the legal fees of any teacher or church that faces a challenge over the legislation in the European courts. He meant to say it was "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" in the garden of Eden - though he actually slightly muddled his words and got them the wrong way round.

17.06 Another big Tory opponent, Stewart Jackson, says marriage is being "smashed at the altar of political correctness". He says he is "personally offended" that David Lammy, a Labour MP, used the argument that the campaign for gay and black rights are similar. He compares himself (a Conservative Christian) to Rosa Parks being pushed to the back of the bus.

16.56 David Burrowes, probably the biggest Tory opponent of the Bill, said he is "not angry but very sad" that his Government has introduced this legislation.

16.45 The tone quickly changes as Fiona Bruce, a Conservative MP, sticks up for the potential owners of a Christian guest house registered to hold civil ceremonies who would be forced to allow same-sex weddings.

16.40 David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, says "separate is not equal" and compares lack of gay marriage to racist and sexist laws in previous decades.

This is not separate but equal. It is separate and discriminated, separate and opressed, separate and brow-beaten, separate and subjugated. Separate is not equal so let us be rid of it.

He also attacks "appalling" comparisons of gay marriage to bestiality and polygamy.

16.32 John Glen, a Tory MP for Salisbury, says he has tried hard to reconcile himself to the gay marriage laws but cannot. He says this does not mean he is from "the dark ages".

The MP says he has "stood up to homophobic bullying" and he has been horrified by some representations. But "redefining marriage is the wrong way to tackle prejudice", he says.

16.28 Former Tory MP Louise Mensch takes to Twitter to say MPs should vote with their conscience and not be swayed by vocal constituents.

<noframe>Twitter: Louise Mensch - No MP should hide behind their constituents. Use the judgement they elected you to exercise. Representative not direct democracy.</noframe>

16.20 There's been an interesting intervention from Lord Adonis, the former Labour Transport Secretary, this afternoon. He is calling on the new Archbishop of Canterbury to change his position over the ban on churches being used for same-sex marriage.

Perhaps it is too difficult to get to this position in one leap. But at least you should ask Parliament to remove the proposed ban on churches being used for same-sex marriage, to make change hereafter easier. Why not, in a dramatic act of leadership, move an amendment to this effect when the Marriage Bill reaches the Lords?

16.18 Thanks to everyone who's emailing in. My inbox isn't quite as weighty as an MP's postbag but I've had a lot of responses. They range from a Conservative Future activist worried about this "monumental social experiment" - proving not all opponents are of the older generation - to a 47-year-old gay man who feels "sad and depressed" that some MPs think he is "not worthy or good enough to get married".

16.11 Sir Gerald Howarth, Tory MP and former defence minister, reveals is "not a moderniser".... not many in the chamber will be surprised.

16.02 Peter Bone, one of the Bill's fiercest opponents, reckons there should be a referendum on gay marriage in 2017 along with the poll on exit from the European Union.

15.58 Many people are applauding a speech given by Mike Freer, who laid into some of his Conservative colleagues for saying gay marriage makes them feel sick. He said people are "hurt far beyond this Chamber" when MPs make such comments.

15.57 There are now reports of another surprise voter against the Bill - Sarah Teather, the former Liberal Democrat minister. She is widely seen as on the left of that party.

15.47 Quite a few Labour MPs have been raising concerns about how the new laws will affect the Church. They've been relatively quiet compared with the Tory objectors until now. Labour's Helen Goodman says:

I do not want us, inadvertently, to back the Church of England into disestablishment.

Stephen Timms is another one, who has just been slightly demolished by colleague Lyn Brown. She pointed out he attended her marriage and she was too old to give birth!

15.35 Jonathan Reynolds, a Labour MP, attacks the comparisons between legalising gay marriage and relationships between three or more people. He says he is concerned by the "vitriol" of people professing to uphold family and Christian values.

He says there is plenty of scope to reconcile the scripture with modern life.

15.32 Another former Conservative minister, Cheryl Gillan, is criticising the "conflicting messages coming out of Government" over the Bill. She thinks the Church has not been fully consulted.

15.30 Graham Brady, a Tory MP, doesn't think the "world will end" if the bill passes, but he thinks it will be impossible to guarantee freedom of religion will not be compromised.

15.26 Tim Ross, a Daily Telegraph political correspondent, is in the chamber. He says the debate has so far "actually been very measure, very polite, sometimes quite moving.", apart from Sir Roger Gale's references to incest.

"It's also the best attended debate I've seen for a long time," he says.

15.20 Craig Whittaker, Conservative for Calder Valley, says the Bill "changes the basic building blocks of society". He says it "erodes the true purpose of marriage".

15.18 David Cameron's embrace of gay marriage was meant to be part of the Tory modernising project. Some are questioning whether that has backfired by exposing many traditional views held by many in his party.

<noframe>Twitter: Jonathan Freedland - A key Cameron goal of equal marriage was to show that the Tories had changed. Debate reminding voters that many haven't</noframe>

15.09 Deputy Lib Dem leader Simon Hughes will vote in favour of the legislation but has doubts about the timetable and details. He is challenged over the perception that he smeared Peter Tachell, the gay rights campaigner, during a 1983 Bermondsey by-election. Mr Hughes says he has apologised privately and publicly in the past.

14.52 Margot James, Tory MP for Stourbridge who is openly gay, says she feels too much pressure has been put on MPs by various pressure groups and the Church over the same-sex marriage issue. She says shegrateful to David Cameron leadership of the party and is frustrated that the "modernisation of the Conservative Party is not yet complete.

She strongly criticises the Coalition for Marriage group for trying to suggest that the churches could be forced to conduct same-sex weddings.

14.43 Sir Edward Leigh says many Tories are worried that social opinion will move on again and repeatedly move the goal posts on marriage - watering down what it means.

14.35 Ian Dunt of Politics.co.uk notes that many anti same-sex marriage MPs seem to using a very similar argument:

<noframe>Twitter: Ian Dunt - 'Equal but different' seems to be the argument of many antis. Difference being that one group is less equal than the other. <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=equalmarriage" target="_blank">#equalmarriage</a></noframe>

Others on Twitter are noting it seems to be a similar "separate but equal" argument used to justify segregation of races.

14.35 Tim Loughton, former Tory children's minister, says those who oppose gay marriage are not "homophobic". He says this idea is "nonsense". He says:

How much more will marriage turn out to be redefined?

He says lawyers are already "queuing up to unpick" the legislation.

14.28 One Tory backbencher, Bernard Jenkin, seems surprised how calm MPs have been keeping (in contrast to the Europe debate?):

<noframe>Twitter: Bernard Jenkin MP - <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=EqualMarriage" target="_blank">#EqualMarriage</a> debate in commons is notable for its calm deliberation and mutual respect. <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Commons" target="_blank">#Commons</a> at its best?</noframe>

14.25 Nick Herbert, former policy minister, is presenting an alternative Conservative view. He says millions will be watching MPs to see whether they vote to treat people equally and argues it will send out an important message for gay rights.

14.15 Uh oh. Sir Roger Gale has just used the "incest argument". Expect him to be trending on Twitter soon. He suggested there could be "civil union" equally applicable to siblings, gay couples and straight couples.

It is abundantly plain to most of us on this side of the House that this bill will end up before the courts, before the ECHR and people of faith will find that faith being trampled upon. That to us is intolerable. The Cabinet paper was entitled 'Redefining marriage'. It is not possible to redefine marriage. It is Alice in Wonderland terroritory - Orwellian almost - to seek to come along and rewrite the lexicon.

Chris Bryant, a shadow Home Office minister, tells him this is "profoundly offensive".

14.13 Jim Dobbin is another Labour MP raising concerns about the Bill, saying it does not value children in marriage enough. He says the Government should be promoting equality not uniformity.

It dilutes the meaning of marriage in my view. It has not created tolerance but has highlighted division.

14.11 Steve Gilbert, a Liberal Democrat MP, who is gay, says the legislation is "historic" and will end discrimination. He compares it to a vote in the House of Commons that equalised the age of consent for straight and gay people.

As a House we should question those who wish to hoard privilege from themselves

14.05 Another Labour MP, Tony Perkins, says he feels "entirely comfortable as a Christian" voting for the Bill. His marriage is in no way "besmirched" by the idea of same-sex couples in a marital union, he says.

He reveals that his own mother was gay and had lived in fear of people discovering that. He says that should not be the case.

14.01 Nadine Dorries, the MP suspended from the Tory Party over her appearance on ITV's I'm a Celebrity, objects to the bill on the grounds that it does not require faithfulness of same-sex couples. This is because adultery will not be a reason for dissolution of a same-sex marriage.

If there is no requirement of faithfulness, what is a marriage?

13.56 Robert Flello is a rare Labour MP saying he will oppose the bill. He hasn't had any constituents saying they want same-sex marriage and claims it is not being sought by the gay community.

I believe it creates inequality. I believe it does not tackle an inequality that is there.

He's a shadow justice minister.

13.45 Sir Tony Baldry, a Church Commissioner, says everybody is equal in the eyes of God but equal doesn't always mean "the same". He is the Church's representative in Parliament and will vote against the Bill.

13.44 Labour's Yvette Cooper is rounding up now. She is giving a passionate argument that "the sky won't fall in" if the bill passes, like it didn't when civil partnerships were allowed.

Let's be on the right side of history and let's vote for this Bill today.

13.42 James Forsyth, Spectator political editor, is another commentator who reckons it's a bad decision for David Cameron to have skipped the debate:

<noframe>Twitter: James Forsyth - Cameron&rsquo;s decision to vacate the field on SSM is one of his worst. It denies Tory proponents of it their best advocate <a href="http://t.co/Lv6gEeZl" target="_blank">http://t.co/Lv6gEeZl</a></noframe>

13.37 Yvette Cooper rejecting the argument that marriage is just about procreation. She says some heterosexual couples don't have children and some gay couples do.

13.31 David Burrowes, the Conservative MP fighting the proposals, suggests the Government is trying to redefine marriage as simply "the end point of romance".

13.26 The shadow equalities minister says the House of Commons has a duty to stand up against discrimination and for equailty. She dismisses the idea that Churches will have to conduct gay marriages:

It is clear they won't have to. The Secretary of State gave a powerful explanation of the safeguards in the Bill.

13.16 Yvette Cooper responds glowingly, saying he gives her strong support to the way the Culture Secretary has dealt with the new legisation - a rare moment of back-slapping between the opposition parties.

13.14 Teachers would "of course" be expected to explain the law around marriage, Mrs Miller said, even though they wouldn't be asked to "promote" anything against their faith.

She says the Bill is good for everybody and will not harm heterosexual marriages. Mrs Miller concludes:

This Bill supports and cultivates marriage and I commend this to the House.

13.11 The Culture Secretary says the issue of protection for religious beliefs is "at the crux" of the debate. There have certainly been a lot of questions on this so far:

<noframe>Twitter: Nick Robinson - Repeated Tory backbench challenges to minister on why legislating now, protections for those with religious views and lack of mandate</noframe>

13.04 Sir Gerald Howarth, a former defence minister, says there is "no mandate for such massive social and cultural change". He also makes the point that the Prime Minister once told Sky News he had no plans to bring in same-sex marriage.

13.02 Mrs Miller suggests civil registrars will be expected to carry out gay marriages, regardless of their religious beliefs, because they are public servants.

13.00 Nigel Dodds, a DUP MP, has accused the Conservatives of supporting gay marriage in a thinly-veiled attempt to "de-toxify" the party, rather than any deep conviction. He berates Mrs Miller for her "low political calculation".

12.55 Tim Ross, one of our political correspondents, wonders where David Cameron has gone for this momentous debate and why he's not out trumpeting his views on equal marriage as loudly as others:

Sometimes the most revealing comments are those that remain unspoken. In 2011, David Cameron boldly announced to the Tory conference that he would legalise same-sex marriage “because I am a Conservative”, saying all relationships deserved support.

Today, he is nowhere to be seen or heard on the issue. At no point, as the row over gay marriage reached its height in recent days, has Mr Cameron said anything in public about why he supports the reforms. The Bill, which is being debated in the Commons for the first time today, was not discussed at Cabinet. Even the Prime Minister’s official spokesman would not repeat the reasons why the government believes this reform is necessary.

Mr Cameron will not be on the front bench for the start of the debate and may well not attend at all. He has a “very active day” of meetings and appointments, Downing Street said. But he will vote, we are told.

So why the silence? Either Mr Cameron has got cold feet and no longer believes in the Bill (in which case, stay tuned for the most sensational U-turn of recent years), or he is desperate to dodge what has become a PR disaster for his party.

His bold promise at the Conservative conference in Manchester was seen as a potent sign of his determination to show how far the Tory party had changed. As the anger and division have grown ever since, it seems to have had exactly the opposite effect.

12.52 Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, wants a "much better balance" in the legislation to make sure the Church's views on gay marriage are respected.

12.51 Mrs Miller says marriage has travelled "a long way as an institution" such as changes to make sure women and men are recognised as equals within marriage.

12.49 She is now asked to confirm that those who oppose the Bill are "not homophobes, not bigots and not barking". Mrs Miller replies:

I think my honourable friend makes the point very well.

12.46 Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, is introducing the bill. She praises marriage as a "loving stable relationship to strengthen us".

She is soon interrupted by Sir Gerald Kaufman who wants a "cast-iron guarantee" that no church will ever be forced to conduct a same-sex marriage against its will.

She says the issues will be dealt with later but the Government has done its best.

12.45 And we're off! The Speaker warns everybody to keep their speeches to four minutes as 71 MPs want to speak.

12.38 Michael Deacon, the Daily Telegraph's sketchwriter, is already down in the press gallery for a front row seat.

<noframe>Twitter: Michael Deacon - <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=equalmarriage" target="_blank">#equalmarriage</a> debate due to start soon. I've now entered the chamber. Tory resistance is expected to be muscular and noisy</noframe>

12.28 The debate is about to begin in about half an hour. Anne McIntosh, a Tory MP, has just been on Sky News explaining her frustration that the gay marriage legislation has come like a "bolt from the blue" while the Coalition has failed to introduce tax breaks for married couples, which was in the party's manifesto.

As a Christian I firmly believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I believe I have as much right to believe that personally and that those beliefs should not be challenged in the way that Parliament is seeking to challenge, and that is what hundreds of people in Britain believe, that is what the thousands and millions of people who believe as I do believe. These views won't, I'm afraid, change overnight.

12.25 Some MPs still appear to be annoyed that the voting is happening at all, according to the FT's Beth Rigby:

<noframe>Twitter: Beth Rigby - Tory BB "We're doing gay marriage cos Cam's got the kindergarden running the advisory team. They're obsessed with brand change" <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=gaymarriage" target="_blank">#gaymarriage</a></noframe>

12.20 For the political betters among you, Paddy Power has released some interesting odds. It's now 1/16 that gay marriage will be legal before the next election. It's 33/1 that David Cameron will lose the vote and 7/2 that he'll have a winning margin of less than 225.

12.06 Paul Waugh, the editor of PoliticsHome, brings us news that David Cameron will not be there for the beginning of the debate as he is otherwise engaged. The PM had a Cabinet meeting this morning and is set to meet Joe Biden, the US vice-president for a working lunch.

<noframe>Twitter: Paul Waugh - PM will not be on frontbench for opening of equal marriage Bill, No.10 says: "He has a very active day" with busy diary. Will vote later tho</noframe>

11.57 MPs have been all over the airwaves and newspapers this morning declaring their views for and against the proposals. Here's a select few quotes.

Therese Coffey, a ministerial aide, on BBC News:

I fundamentally believe that marriage is about family; that’s the primary purpose of it, that’s the bedrock of society and I don’t see that changing that definition is helpful for family. But also I’m very concerned that the safeguards on the bill that the Government puts forward are not as watertight as they suggest, and indeed in their own briefing papers they say there will be people like registrars who are subject to being fired for refusing to carry out same sex marriages.

Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, on BBC News:

I think all the statistics show that there is the support there in the country and I don't think you should really pre-judge the vote today.

Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat deputy leader:

Actually there are things in the bill that I don’t think are very well-drafted, that are not very clear. I don’t think it yet separates as clearly as it could civil marriage and faith understanding.

Nick Herbert, former Tory policing minister

The fact that gay people want to be admitted into this important institution is surely something to be celebrated and welcome. Attitudes towards gay people have changed. When I was born homosexual conduct was still a crime and there has been tremendous progress since then. I believe this is an important way of demonstrating that gay people are fully accepted in society and it is one that commands public support.

11.45 To coincide with the debate, same-sex marriage campaigners will hold a rally outside Parliament. Peter Tatchell, the founder of a gay rights group, said the demonstration will be for "love and equality":

We are taking a stand for equal rights, against the vociferous homophobic minority. They want to keep us as second class citizens and are resorting to smears and scare tactics.

11.35 The debate itself is expected to start some time after noon. Ahead of this, rumours are circulating the Westminster lobby that a Tory MP will dramatically out himself (or herself?) during the debate...

11.32 Benedict Brogan, the Daily Telegraph's deputy editor, has this to say about the debate in his morning email:

How much this damages the Conservatives is a source of debate. Ask most backbenchers and they will tell hair-raising yarns of constituency association resigning en masse. The polling in today's Sun also suggests a wounded party - 71pc think of the Conservatives as a divided party, Labour's poll lead is now 15pts, and support for same sex marriage is soft, the margin of strong supporters exceeds strong opponents by only 4pc. ConservativeHome suggests the picture is a little brighter, YouGov's Stephen Shakespeare discounts ComRes's finding that 14pc of Tory voters would not vote for the party thanks to its stance...

Dave is often accused of lacking fixed principles. Carried out in the teeth of fierce opposition, this is arguably the greatest conviction call of his leadership. His greatest challenge may be uniting the party again afterwards.

11.31 It's going to be quite a battle. The Government is trying to push through new laws to give same-sex couples the right to marry. David Cameron is expected to win the vote with the help of the Liberal Democrats and Labour. However, he is facing an embarrassing rebellion by at least 100 of his own MPs.