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Lots of interesting articles by our team about marriage and commitment, family policy, our research findings and other marriage-related stuff

Commit or Quit – The Two Year Rule and Other Rules for Romance

COMMIT OR QUIT – THE TWO YEAR RULE AND OTHER RULES FOR ROMANCE Harry Benson’s new book on cohabiting and commitment Available from Amazon of

May 11, 2020 No Comments

Living with uncertainty

Now that we’re a few weeks into lockdown, I’ve been thinking a lot about how this pandemic might be affecting the way we do relationships

April 23, 2020 1 Comment

In banning weddings, government has unintentionally banned marriages

Several people have written to me to ask how they can get married. Under the new coronavirus law, weddings are banned. As a result, churches

April 13, 2020 No Comments

Family planning: The antidote to ‘co-DIV-19’

Having an A&E doctor living in our house, I know all too well how this thing is going to get a lot worse. But you

March 20, 2020 No Comments

Number 10 needs a Family Policy Unit

The costs – personal, social, economic – of family breakdown are vast and underappreciated. This is a social justice issue. My article for the political

January 28, 2020 No Comments

Enter civil partnerships

From new year’s eve, heterosexual couples will have the same opportunity to formalise their relationship as same sex couples through either civil partnership or marriage.

December 29, 2019 No Comments

Family breakdown costs £50bn a year

When couples split up, families move from one to two households. Poverty is a common outcome that affects children. Six out of ten lone parents are supported by the state compared to one out of ten couple parents. That's where most of the £50bn is spent.

UK Among highest family breakdown in Europe

Five years ago, the UK had the highest rate of family breakdown in Europe. We're not doing as badly today, but only because of big falls in divorce rates. Alas there's no sign of a similar improvement among cohabitees

Lower Divorce Rates – Higher Lone Parents

Divorce rates have plummeted over the past 3 decades, but the number of lone parents has doubled in the same period. Why?... Because unmarried parents make up only one in five cohabiting parents but are responsible for one half of all family breakdown.

Stability is found in Marriage

Whereas stability is the norm if parents are married (75% stay together), it is the exception if they are not (30% stay together). As a result, among parents of teens who are still together as a couple, nine out of ten are married

Single Most Important Factor

The single most important factor in a child’s healthy development is the stable relationship of the parents. Our groundbreaking research shows that family breakdown is the #1 predictor of teenage mental health problems.

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