by Tony Rucinski, Coalition for Marriage
Marriage is the freely chosen, public, lifelong union of one man and one woman, and the gold standard for couples and the children they raise. The Government has just opened a consultation that would quietly dismantle its place in law. Blandly titled “A fairer end to relationships”, it would automatically hand the legal benefits of marriage to couples who never married – unless they opt out – and, when one partner dies, give the other the same inheritance rights as a husband or wife.
Ministers insist they are protecting marriage. The consultation even lists “Preserving the distinct status of marriage” among its guiding principles. Yet, in the very same document the Government says it is “minded” to give long-term cohabiting couples inheritance rights identical to a spouse’s – the same share and the same priority – having weighed a narrower option and rejected it for full equivalence.
When the Government promises that none of this will weaken marriage, that assurance rests on a single footnote – number 29 – with two sources which are not neutral on the reform. One was co-authored by an advocate of changing the law, who says reform “should be a priority for government”.