February 9, 2017

Equal Civil Partnerships respond to Supreme Court ruling on survivor’s pensions

Responding to the judgement by the Supreme Court that Denise Brewster should be allowed access to her late-partner’s pension though the two were not married, Matt Hawkins, Campaign Manager for the Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign said:

“Firstly our thoughts and best wishes must go to Denise. We hope that today’s ruling will lay down a marker that means no one else ever has to go through eight years of court proceedings and emotional turmoil to secure their rights to the safety net and inheritance of their partner, should their partner sadly pass away without them being married.

“And looking to the future there is a very simple thing that the government can do to help minimise the chances of that turmoil being inflicted on anyone else: giving mixed-sex couples the right to a civil partnership. It’s an easy change in the law that would give millions of couples a new option and way to get legal and financial protection without some of the baggage and complexities associated with marriage. Denise has done an incredible thing not only in committing to this fight but in raising awareness of the lack of security for unmarried cohabiting mixed-sex couples – something we hope will give a big boost to our campaign for mixed-sex civil partnerships.”