Politicians are ‘out of touch’ with marriage
JUST one in 10 Labour MPs believes marriage should be promoted through the tax system, a study shows.
Four in 10 did not agree that children of married parents had better life chances than those whose parents were unwed.
Politicians were accused of being out of touch with the public following the poll, which showed fewer than half of all MPs thought marriage was a “special institution” that should be promoted through policies such as tax incentives.
Only 45 per cent of MPs backed such special measures to support marriage, according to a survey by ComRes.
A mere 11 per cent of Labour MPs surveyed supported promoting marriage through the tax system.
The findings have alarmed the Centre for Social Justice think-tank, which argues strong family relationships are a key way of tackling social breakdown.
Frank Young, head of family policy at the CSJ, said: “This poll shows yet again that there is a disconnect between popular views in Westminster and the people MPs represent. Our polling shows more than seven in 10 voters say marriage is important and the Government should support married couples. The public get it, politicians don’t despite overwhelmingly choosing marriage when it comes to their own lives. The evidence is also clear married couples tend to stay together and family breakdown has huge consequences.”
Katharine Hill of the charity Care for the Family said: “A child’s ‘life chances’ are influenced by lots of different factors, like the quality of parenting, their education and their friendship circle, but research shows 93 per cent of all parents who stay together until their children reach 15 are married. Whilst not always possible, most people would agree having two parents at home is the ideal option.
“When two adults choose to marry they decide to commit to each other for the long term. This conscious commitment often ends up creating a more stable home for raising children than cohabiting, where couples tend to slide into living together then having children, sometimes without pausing to consider the longer-term impact.”