The Government has announced it will reform marriage law into an officiant-based, rather than buildings-based model.
In a move billed as “the biggest overhaul to marriage law since the 19th century”, couples will have greater choice in where to hold their wedding, as long as the venue is deemed “appropriate and dignified”. The overhaul aims to make getting married simpler and less expensive.
The changes are in line with recommendations from the Law Commission, and a consultation on the new rules is expected early next year.
‘Fairer and less costly’
The Government’s press release stated: “The reforms will give couples more choice in how they get married, making the process simpler, fairer and less costly, while ensuring the dignity and integrity of marriage is protected.”
It added that the changes “will mean marriage law reflects modern Britain, making it more straightforward”.
Baroness Levitt KC, the Minister for Family Law, called marriage “one of our country’s most celebrated traditions”. She explained: “Our reforms will protect the solemnity and dignity of marriage while providing more choice for couples and unlocking untapped opportunities for the economy.”
‘More detail needed’
The Christian Institute’s Head of Policy and Research, Dave Greatorex, noted the lack of detail in the proposals published so far.
“Marriage isn’t about the wedding day, it’s about the life together afterwards. So of course, cheaper weddings and other initiatives to encourage people to get married are good, if the seriousness and dignity of marriage is genuinely upheld – and that’s a big ‘if’. Any changes must not undermined marriage.
“The Law Commission proposals also included several troubling suggestions not mentioned in the Government’s press release, such as abolishing the prescribed words and scrapping the requirement for open doors.
“These provisions go to the very nature of marriage as a public exchange of solemn promises, so it would be very concerning if the Law Commission’s ideas were adopted.”
‘Re-embrace marriage’
A report published in May, ‘We need to talk about marriage’, by the Marriage Foundation, found that nearly half of teenagers are not living with both of their natural parents by the age of 14 (45 per cent), and that family breakdown has tripled since the 1970s.
The study explained: “The driver of family breakdown is not divorce, now at its lowest level since 1970, but the collapse of unmarried families. Married families account for 85 per cent of intact parents yet just 30 per cent of family breakdown”.
It concluded: “We betray another generation if we don’t talk about this and do something about it. For the sake of the next generation of children, we badly need to re-embrace marriage.”
Strong foundations
Although marriage does not “guarantee” couples will stay together, the study’s author, Harry Benson, explained how it does help.
He said: “The act of marriage has all the ingredients of the psychology of commitment automatically built in. We decide. One of us proposes a life together. The other agrees. Then we have a celebration in front of our friends and family.”
Benson noted that “the poorest married couples are more likely to stay together than the richest cohabitees”.
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