Homosexuality was legalised in 1967, marking the start of 35 years of change that saw the age of consent for gay men cut from 21 to 16 and the first official "marriage-style'' ceremonies for same-sex couples.
Gay couples now enjoy the same rights to adopt as married couples and today Home Office minister Barbara Roche signalled that they would also be offered equal legal status in "civil partnerships''.
But these changes were only possible after thousands of campaigners made their case to Parliament and the public, taking on vociferous opposition from Catholics, Anglicans and the House of Lords.
The law which set the age of consent at 21 remained unchanged until 1994, when the Commons was given a free vote on the matter. MPs agreed to lower the age of consent for gay men to 18 - but that was not enough for many activists and politicians who continued to press for the younger limit of 16.
The ensuing tussle proved one of the most difficult Parliamentary challenges for the Government during the early years of Tony Blair's premiership.
Three times the Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of lowering the age of consent to 16. And three times the House of Lords, led by Tory Baroness Young, rejected the plans.
It was only in February 2000, two years after the plan was first put to the Commons, that Speaker Michael Martin invoked the rarely used Parliament Acts to force the measure through.