couple penalty Archives - Marriage Foundation

Signs that Gen Z want marriage

May I wish you a very happy Marriage Week, running up to Valentine’s day. This is a particularly good time to think about marriage and celebrate the most successful mechanism

The problem isn’t childcare: It’s our perverse anti-family tax and benefits systems

This week the chancellor announced that from 2025 parents will be offered free childcare for their children as young as 9 months old. Whereas parents will now be able to

Family friendly Hungary

I’ve been somewhat immersed in all things Hungary during the past few weeks. Last month, I was invited to an international conference on the family by their government-backed think tank

Online dating and divorce – READ our newsletter for November

MEETING ONLINE is now the most popular route to marriage but also raises the risk of divorce in the early years, according to our new analysis, covered in today’s Sunday Times (£) and Mail

The couple penalty: the perverse family policy that penalises commitment

In the budget this week, the Chancellor announced a couple of things that will benefit quite a lot of families in the short term. But in failing to address the

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 website ConservativeHome … A friend

A nation divided … over marriage

It’s not just Brexit. Britain is also a nation divided over marriage. The better off marry and mostly stay together. The less well off don’t marry and face a much

A simple policy on marriage for Mrs May

Government policy on marriage is lukewarm at best and downright ambivalent at worst. On the one hand, the state is terribly interested in marriage. We have strict laws on who can marry

Family breakdown costs £50bn a year

Family breakdown costs the UK an estimated £50 billion every year — most of which is spent supporting families who move from one to two households when relationships end. Beyond the financial cost, the social and emotional toll on children can be lifelong.

UK Among highest family breakdown in Europe

The UK continues to experience some of the highest levels of family breakdown in Europe. While divorce rates have declined, this improvement has not been matched among cohabiting couples, who remain significantly more likely to separate.

Lower Divorce Rates – Higher Lone Parents

Divorce rates have fallen dramatically over the past three decades. Yet over the same period, the number of lone-parent families has doubled — because couples who live together without marrying or forming a civil partnership are three times more likely to separate than those who do.

Formal commitment is strongly associated with family stability

Stability remains the norm when parents are married or in a civil partnership — around

75% stay together as their children grow up, compared with 30% of cohabiting parents. The act of formal commitment changes how couples think and behave about their relationship, creating a foundation that is more likely to endure.

The parents’ relationship plays a vital role in children’s development

The single most important factor in a child’s healthy development is the stability of their parents’ relationship. Our research consistently shows that family breakdown is the strongest predictor of teenage mental health problems — and that formal commitment through marriage or civil partnership offers the best protection against this instability.

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