Straight couples to remain banned from entering into civil partnerships

Along with other announcements on the future of civil partnerships in the UK, the Government will today announce that straight couples will remain banned from entering them.

The Government will today make announcements including that, following a public consultation, only same-sex couples will be able to enter into civil partnerships, a senior Government source revealed.

Despite that the Lib Dems passed a policy supporting equal marriage and equal civil partnerships for all couples straight or gay at its 2010 Party Conference, following a public consultation into the future of civil partnerships, it appears that civil partnerships will remain for gay couples, and those who wish to convert to marriage will need to actively do so.

The new situation will mean gay couples have the choice between a marriage or a civil partnership, and straight couples will only be able to get married.

A Government consultation into the future of civil partnerships closed in April.

A straight couple from London in March  announced their engagement, but said that they would get civilly partnered rather than married, in order to push for full marriage equality.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell repeatedly called for the coalition’s equal marriage plans to include civil partnerships for heterosexuals.

He criticised then Culture Secretary and Minister for Equalities, Maria Miller, for ruling out the measure during the same-sex marriage debate.

• Dec 01 2023

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