To say I am wound up by Andy Burnham's suggestion that "the tax system should recognise commitment and marriage" is an understatement.
As someone who isn't married, but is in a stable relationship that has lasted considerably longer than some of my friends' marriages, I wish politicians of all parties would butt out of trying to tell people what model of family or relationship is best for them and particularly of trying to social engineer people into marriage through tax bribes. What is it supposed to mean? That married people are "better" or "more worthy" and must therefore be rewarded?
A few bugbears:
a) the rate of divorce in this country suggests too many people marry in haste. If we encourage more marriages without creating support and advice for couples and getting them to stop and think about whether they are doing the right thing, we'll just get more divorces.
b) how dare any politician tell any of us what sort of relationship would be best for us? How are they supposed to know?
c) surely some tawdry tax break devalues the whole institution and makes it look like a financial deal not a declaration of love?
d) do we really want to make people less well off because they get divorced? Won't they have enough problems to deal with anyway?
My partner says she would seriously consider whether she would stay in the Labour Party if it goes down this path.
Maybe one day we might get married. If we do though it won't be because the Treasury tries to bribe us to do it.
While we're on the subject, when are we going to follow our fantastic, progressive step in creating Civil Partnerships for gay and lesbian couples with a similar civil partnership institution that mixed-gender couples can sign up to if they want legal recognition as a couple but don't want the cultural/historical/social trappings of getting married?
P.S. before anyone starts having a go, I think marriage is a great institution, I respect people who want to get married, I enjoy weddings immensely - I just want other people and the state to recognise that one size doesn't fit all and you don't have to be married to have a happy family life.
The state - and politicians - should stay well away from telling people how to conduct their personal lives.
Ouch! I agree with every bloody word you've written. Now that's a first!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you, Luke - a rare event.
ReplyDeleteLuke,
ReplyDeleteI would normally accuse you of being off-message here, but since Brown became PM I'm not sure what on-message is anymore.
Yours,
Bitter Blairite
Cracking post Luke.
ReplyDeleteYep, I've also just put a red ring around the day - just agreed with Luke Akehurst.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
ReplyDeleteFurther, my partner and I should not be pressured into a civil partnership.
I completely agree with you Luke.
ReplyDeleteUnless, of course, we can significantly reduce our tax bill under the new proposals in which case I could consider a proposal.
ReplyDeleteFor once I agree with you Luke.
ReplyDeleteLuke, here I was still shaking my head at your earlier personalised hyperbole over Polly Toynbee... and then you go and do this excellent honest and sincere posting.
ReplyDeleteEarlier this year I ploughed through the IDS report for the Tories on poverty in the UK. I was beginning to get impressed with the content and style (maybe not agree with it all, but beginning to respect it).
Then it goes off-track and into the weary old prejudices about idealised 'two parents in marriage' and the cause-of-all-social-evil being single/unmarried parents.
I'm sure that Andy will learn from the reaction to his inappropropriate and baseless utterances... just as some of his fellow 'young generation' Government colleagues (hopefully) will learn from their recent 'election-now' hysteria.
How disloyal, attacking the Labour Party's (and Tories) policy on taxation. You're just as bad as that Toynbee woman.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm straying into dangerous ground by raising this one, but in the same interview in The Telegraph (article here), Burnham states his 'Interests' thus:
ReplyDeleteEverton FC, the Labour party and the Catholic church - "in that order"
For him how much does religious morality come into it? Do we perhaps have even more people with a strong religious belief in this cabinet than the last one?
OMG, I agree with you, Luke! I think I'm going to go outside and hang myself from the nearest tree.
ReplyDeleteJust for once Luke you are sopt on!
ReplyDeleteIt is bollocks like this that made me join Labour if i wanted moralising politicians i would have joined the Tories.
Dear Luke
ReplyDeleteBack to business as usual and healthy debate and disagreement.
On the specifics of marriage and the state - I thought Harriet Harman summed it up well in her closing speech to Conference.
"Whatever it takes to support families - Labour is the party of the family and we will do it.
Families do need practical help, they don't need to be told by politicians how to lead their lives.
They don't need Tories "sending a message about marriage"....
What does that really mean?
It means saying to children whose parents have divorced or who are being brought up by a mother or a father on their own,
- It means saying to those children
- there's something wrong with your family.
And we will not stand for that.
It means saying to the gay couple or the lesbian couple who have loved each other for years - there's something wrong with your relationship.
And we will not stand for that either.
Because that Tory message about marriage is just the same old back to basics.
And the truth is that until they drop it, the Tory party is still the nasty party."
Quite where that leaves Mr Burnham, I'm not sure.
Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteI suppose we should congratulate Mr Burnham on uniting the party on this one.
Burnham is just shooting his mouth off. Not Party Policy or anything like. Have gerblogged it. There are a lot of legal advantages to marriage still and not all can be replicated by side contracts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you say Luke. I was amazed to hear the news. However, before we hang Andy Burnham it is clear he was stitched up by the terrible twins on the Telegraph. They quoted him out of context and span his comments. His response after the article pointing this out was not reported anywhere, you would not be surprised to hear.
ReplyDeleteHe was stupid to do the interview - they always do this to Labour politicians. Whoever advised him to do it is an idiot.
Luke, great post agree with every word of it.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Nevertheless, the tax system still favours single couples - this is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's not the business of the state to encourage marriage. If people get a tax break for marriage, who's to say that the divorce rate won't increase exponentially because people will be getting married out of financial convenience rather than love. This also doesn't take domestic abuse into consideration.
A rather bizarre proposal. People are staying apart because of tax incentives... so you give them a tax incentive to get married. As far as I'm aware, a tax incentive is hardly the ideal foundation stone for a healthy family. Society won't benefit from this, only divorce lawyers.
"... the rate of divorce in this country suggests too many people marry in haste. If we encourage more marriages without creating support and advice for couples and getting them to stop and think about whether they are doing the right thing, we'll just get more divorces."
This isn't a case for discouraging marriage. People get divorced for a number of reasons. It would be wrong to solely attribute rising divorce rates down to people marrying in haste.
Ewen, the tax system does not favour single people - it discriminates against couples rich enough for only one to have an income.
ReplyDeleteStrikes me as more progressive than penalising the unmarried.
absolutely bloody correct Luke.
ReplyDeleteLuke you communist hero!
ReplyDeleteCrack open the [proletarian] Bolly...
I think its ok to benfit commitment but that doesn't have to mean marriage.
ReplyDeleteI'm not against civil partnerships for opposite sex couples but that would have to be accompanied by marriage for gays too! Mind you, I think thats what everyone regards civil partnership as in any case. I think of myself as maried
The state - and politicians - should stay well away from telling people how to conduct their personal lives.
ReplyDelete1. Cigarette ban
2. Five a day fruit n veg adverts
3. Middle England drink too much wine
4. The poor drink too much beer.
Yep, have to agree with you here.