Most Scots disagree with Executive's divorce plans

A majority of Scots want a longer cooling-off period for divorce than the Executive is planning, according to a new poll.

62% of Scots oppose the Executive's plan to reduce the time period for a non-contested no-fault divorce from two years separation to one year. Opposition is even stronger amongst Lib Dem voters, with almost three in four (74%) against the plans. The Liberal Democrat Party has been pushing the divorce reforms within the coalition.

Where a spouse contests the no-fault divorce, 55% of Scots do not agree with the Executive's plan to reduce the time limit from five years separation to two years. This figure rises to 60% for Liberal Democrat voters and 61% for Labour voters.

59% of those polled said the government should be doing all it can to help couples work through their marriage difficulties. 72% agree that there are normally negative consequences for children whose parents divorce.

Speaking today, Colin Hart (Director of The Christian Institute) said: "These results show that the Executive does not have popular support for its plans. Most people believe divorcing couples should have a longer cooling-off period than the Executive is proposing. By making divorce easier, there will inevitably be a sharp rise in the number of divorces. Divorce has all sorts of negative consequences for adults and children."

Note for editors
The opinion poll was carried out by CommunicateResearch. They interviewed a random sample of 1,000 Scottish adults by telephone 6-12 December 2005. CommunicateResearch is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.