These are noble words but the harsh reality is that, while gay couples can now marry, they still cannot benefit from all the advantages straight married couples enjoy.

Take pension rights. Despite the same-sex marriage law, gay couples who tie the knot in coming months will still be treated less generously than their heterosexual counterparts.

I’ve paid into a pension since 1985, but if I die before Russell, under the current law, the benefits payable to him will date back only to 2005, when civil partnerships came into effect…

This, to my mind, is far more important than whether we can say we are legally ‘married’. But the politicians who harp on about equality appear to be doing nothing about it.