If you were surprised that David Cameron, conservative British Prime Minister, has decided to “emphatically support” full gay marriage being introduced in Britain by 2015, you have the facts both for you and against you.

In many ways, Cameron’s conversion is the conversion of millions who have been exposed to the arguments and to gay friends and colleagues over a prolonged period. The change is also special given how far his party has come – putting it well ahead of parties like the centre-left Australian Labor Party, for example.

You can read a detailed account of the Conservative troubled history with gay rights, gay people, and homophobia in “Tory Pride and Prejudice” by Michael McManus.