Why Policy Ghosts from the Past Matter: A Process Analysis of Gay Marriage Legalization in England and Wales

This paper argues that a within-case analysis of the causes and patterns of the legalization of same-sex marriage in England and Wales in July 2013 offers fresh insights into change in LGBT regulation in Western Europe. Using systematic process analysis based on narrative analysis and elite interviews, the article explores the expansion of the institution of marriage from four perspectives: historical (policy legacies), sociological (norm diffusion), rational (power) and discursive (narratives). It demonstrates that the promotion and passing of gay marriage legislation by a Conservative-led administration resulted from a discursive mobilisation of the past. Specifically, Conservative elites driven by a desire to escape the shadow cast by previous policies and positions pursued by their party that marginalised gay and lesbian citizens. With a Conservative-led government as a least-likely case for championing change, analysis foregrounds modes of explanation that more often play only supporting roles – historical and discursive. The study’s main finding is that negative policy legacies can be resurrected and reclaimed by political elites and, using transformative narratives, used as the basis for radical policy change.