In the past week I have been contacted by
constituents asking if I could take part in the parliamentary debate and vote
at the Third Reading and Report Stages of the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and
Deaths (Registration Etc.) Bill on Friday 26 October.
The bill makes provisions for i) heterosexual
couples to enter a civil partnership, ii) registration of the names of the
mother of each party to a marriage or civil partnership, and iii) registration
of stillborn deaths.
I support the bill’s aims to allow for a mother’s
name to be recognised in the marriage certificate and create a system of proper
registration for stillborn babies. However, I am concerned that the creation of
heterosexual civil partnerships might lead to more couples opting for a
low-commitment alternative to marriage, where they are not required to vow to
commit to each other for life, and therefore making it easier for their
partnerships to break up at a time when the divorce rate is already well over 40%
in England.
The proposals would also mean traditionally-married
couples would not be given a marriage certificate on the day and there would be
an electronic register instead of an official one in churches. Denying a
married couple their marriage certificate on their special day is not a measure
I would support.
While I would like to be able to attend the debate
and vote of the bill on Friday 26 October to engage with the views of other
parliamentarians, I regret to inform my constituents that on this occasion I
will not be able to as I am already committed to a number of important
constituency engagements on Friday 26 October.
