Marriage rates see shocking fall
From the Marriage Foundation:
Office of National Statistics has released the new marriage statistics for 2013 and they show a shocking fall in marriage rates.
Marriage Foundation’s analysis of the ONS statistics reveals that first marriage rates are now at an all-time low for brides at 25.6 per 1,000 single women, and equal to the previous all-time low seen in 2009 for grooms at 21.7 per 1,000 unmarried men. Furthermore, there were fewer weddings in 2013 across all age groups between 20 and 49. Simultaneously, the average age at first marriage continues to climb and is now at 30.6 for brides and at 32.5 for grooms.
Previous Marriage Foundation research from the Family Resources Survey has shown that marriage is increasingly the preserve of the rich. While 87 per cent of top earners (over £43,000) with young children are married – showing almost no trend away from marriage since the 1970s – this compares to 60 per cent of middle earners and just 25 per cent of the lowest earners with young children who are married.
Harry Benson, Research Director for Marriage Foundation, commented: “The latest statistics show marriage rates fell dramatically in 2013. It is a damning indictment of a supposedly pro-marriage government. Despite all their rhetoric of wanting to help promote family stability and improve outcomes for children, they have failed to tackle the disincentive to marriage in the tax system. Only seven percent of parents who are still together when their children reach 15 are not married. If this Government is serious about tacking family breakdown, it needs to back marriage unambiguously.”
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