The number of marriages in the UK has dropped to a historical minimum. “A perverse social assistance policy”
Young married, photo: Guido Cavallini / Imagesource / Profimedia Images
The number of couples in England and Wales who are married or in Legal Partnership has decreased for the first time to less than half of the adult population, the National Bureau of Statistics (ONS) reported, Xinhua, quoted by Agerpres.
According to ONS, married couples or in civil partnership continue to represent the most common type of legal partnership in the United Kingdom, but the proportion of people opting for such commitments has decreased from 51.5% in 2014 to 49.5% in 2024. The most notable decrease is registered among persons between the ages of 25 and 34 years, with 55 years, with 55 years, with 55 years, with 55 years. shows in the ONS report.
Marriage Foundation, a charitable organization established in 2012 to promote marriage, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that “this depressing tendency will continue until government policy or social culture will begin to give priority to marriage again.” Meanwhile, the number of coexistence couples – that is, those who live together, but are not married or in a legal partnership – is increasing, reaching 60.5% of the adult population in 2024.
Harry Benson, research director at Marriage Foundation, told Xinhua that these results reflect “the continuation of a very slow long-term drop, which started in the 1970s, in which the rich continued to marry, while less than half of the people in the lower socio-economic group were married, and in the poorest.
“The latest studies show that parents in the UK are significantly more likely to stay together if they are married, regardless of their environment of origin. Therefore, marriage prevents couples from entering poverty. And yet, our perverse policy of social assistance penalizes couples who marry their benefits.”
“The record levels of family disintegration were mainly determined by the collapse of relationships that have never been formalized by marriage or civil partnership. The message in psychology and data is simple: if you want to stay together, marry,” he added.
