by Noah Eastwood, Telegraph
Cohabiters to be ‘married in all but name’ under the Government’s manifesto pledge
Labour is drafting up plans to give cohabiting couples “marriage in all but name” as ministers consider greater protections for those who refuse to tie the knot.
The Government is set to launch a consultation on changing the law around cohabitation to support the increasingly popular lifestyle choice.
Couples who live together without being married can currently only make limited claims to each other’s wealth during a breakup.
Labour is bound by a manifesto pledge to strengthen the rights available in particular to women in cohabiting couples amid concerns they are financially vulnerable.
The campaign pledge offered little detail about how the law could be reformed in favour of cohabiters, and ministers are due to begin a consultation on the matter later this year.
Tony Rucinski, director of the Coalition for Marriage, a pressure group in favour of marriage, warned legal protections for unmarried couples risked duplicating marriage laws and weakening traditional family values in Britain.
“By putting a legal framework around cohabitation, what you are going to do is make people commit to each other, formalise it and make promises – and you will end up with something we already have. It’s called marriage, so why not just get married?
“The idea of a government giving legal rights to cohabitees is missing the point. Why don’t we encourage people to commit to each other in order to get the rights we already have? It doesn’t make sense to legislate for a situation that will reflect marriage in all but name.”