The Coalition for Marriage has called upon supporters to do all they can to ensure that the government’s plans to reform wedding laws do not go ahead.
A consultation on the plans was announced in the dying days of the Starmer government. Under the proposals a wedding would be permitted to take place in almost any location, provided that there was a recognised officiant taking part in the proceedings.
The stated aim of the policy is to incentivise marriage by bringing the costs of the ceremony down – at present the average cost of a wedding is £20,000 – a stark fact that puts many off tying the knot officially.
While many of the headlines surrounding the idea centre on the novelty of having weddings in pubs, beaches, forests or other unusual locations, the Coalition for Marriage has raised concerns that some of the small print in the plans are deeply concerning.
The group noted that verbal affirmations of consent to a marriage would not be required under the plans. This measure, intended by the government to recognise the marriage traditions of religious minorities, could be used to facilitate forced marriage, the coalition warned.
Additionally the group questioned plans that would require ministers of religion, excepting those in the Church of England, to take a “fit and proper” test every five years in order to retain their license to conduct weddings. The coalition raised concerns that being a “fit and proper” person might well be conditional on willingness to conduct LGBT ceremonies.
Dr Tony Rucinski, director of supporter strategy at the Coalition for Marriage, told supporters, “Behind the castles-and-canal-boats headlines sits the real proposal – a bride could be married without saying a word, in the secrecy of a private home, on an officiant’s judgement of what her silence meant – and every couple’s vow loses its promise. Marriage – the lifelong union of one man and one woman, the gold standard for families and society – hollowed out from the inside.”
He added, “The legal guarantee that no church and no minister can ever be forced to conduct a same-sex wedding – are nowhere restated, while every minister of religion, but those in the Church of England, would face an undefined state 'fit and proper' test and five-yearly re-licensing. And you can guess what that fit and proper test will be looking for – a willingness to conduct same-sex weddings?”
