Elton has called on the government not to concede to the opponents of equal marriage and says he would “love nothing more than to make history again” by turning his civil partnership into a marriage.

He has spoken movingly of his 19-year-long relationship to partner David Furnish, and has urged the government to press ahead with its plans for equal marriage. Writing in the Independent, Elton said: “If we legalise gay marriage in Britain, you can bet your last penny that I’ll be pushing to call him my husband at the first opportunity”.

On the day when Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, blasted the government for wanting to go beyond civil partnerships, Elton said: “I know a lot of people, and perhaps especially religious people, will say that David and I should count ourselves lucky for living in a country that allows civil partnerships, and call it quits there”. He continued: “Well, I don’t accept this. I don’t accept it because there is a world of difference between calling someone your ‘partner’ and calling them your ‘husband’. ‘Partner’ is a word that should be preserved for people you play tennis with, or work alongside in business. It doesn’t come close to describing the love that I have for David, and he for me. In contrast, ‘husband’ does. A ‘husband’ is somebody that you cherish forever, that you would give up everything for, that you love in sickness and in health.

Elton continued: “Until the law recognises David Furnish is my husband, and not merely my partner, the law won’t describe the man I know and adore”. Elton’s remarks follow in the wake of Stephen Fry’s decision to release a video for the Out4Marriage campaign on October 5, 2012. The gay writer, actor and television star said it was “unfair” of the Church of England to oppose same-sex weddings to appease “the more extreme end” of their membership.

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