Miriam Cates MP: ‘Govt must promote marriage to tackle family breakdown’

Christian MP Miriam Cates has urged politicians to ‘preach what they practice’ by promoting the benefits of marriage to society.

Writing for The Daily Telegraph, the MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge highlighted that although many politicians personally know that “marriage works”, they are more “keen to polish their liberal credentials by denigrating the importance of marriage”.

Mrs Cates said “it is the role of government to create the conditions that enable families to flourish” and “we must be prepared to talk – and act – to try to ensure more British children experience the lifelong advantages of growing up with both parents”.

‘Indisputable evidence’

The Conservative MP highlighted: “As marriage rates have declined, parental separation rates have increased. The UK has become the family breakdown capital of the West”.

But “the evidence is indisputable: marriage often protects children from the harmful effects of family breakdown”, and those “who grow up living with both parents are more likely to fare well on every level including educational outcomes, future income and mental health”.

“So the question politicians should be asking is how can we repopularise marriage?”

the evidence is indisputable: marriage often protects children from the harmful effects of family breakdown

Marriage matters

A study has found that the “vast majority” of family breakdown comes from unmarried couples rather than divorce.

The Millennium Cohort Study followed the first-time parents of 4,476 children born between 2000 and 2002 over 14 years.

Its data shows that of those parents, 60 per cent of unmarried couples separated before their child turned 14 years old, in contrast to only 21 per cent of those who married before their child was born.