Labour? They hate marriage, says IDS

ED Miliband does not believe in marriage, and his party ‘hates’ the institution, Iain Duncan Smith declared yesterday.

The Tory frontbencher also appeared to question Mr Miliband’s belief in marriage by pointing out the Labour leader tied the knot ‘ quite late in the day’.

Labour reacted with fury, accusing the Tories of ‘panic’ and saying that the comments were ‘ beneath’ the Conservative Party.

The Work and Pensions Secretary, who has campaigned for more Government support for marriage, made the comments in an interview in the Sunday Telegraph.

He told the newspaper he was determined to reclaim the Tories’ status of the party of ‘real family values’.

He said of Labour: ‘ They hate marriage. It is quite peculiar. Just look at Miliband and co – they just don’t believe in it as an institution.’

Pressed on what exactly he was saying about Mr Miliband, he said: ‘Well, you know, that he got married quite late in the day.’ The Labour leader married Justine Thornton, his girlfriend of nine years and the mother of his two sons, in 2011, the year after he became Labour leader.

At the time he was the first leader of a major political party to live with his family out of wedlock.

Yesterday Mr Duncan Smith pointed to Tory plans for 30 hours of free childcare and the recently introduced tax allowance for married couples as evidence of the Tories backing ‘real family values’.

A Labour source last night said the comments were ‘a sign of desperation’.