April 20, 2017

Three in five people now think civil partnerships should be open to all

Three in five people in Britain believe that civil partnerships should be open to all couples, new polling has found.

A survey of 2000 people by Populus found that 57% think civil partnerships should be made available to both mixed-sex and same-sex couples while only 20% think they should be scrapped altogether.

The survey comes after the Court of Appeal ruled in February that the current legal situation which allows same-sex couples the right to a civil partnership or marriage while mixed-sex couples can only marry cannot continue indefinitely.

The campaign for Equal Civil Partnerships argue that the poll results show that pledging to extend civil partnerships would be a popular choice for parties contesting the June 8th general election.

Matt Hawkins, Campaign Manager for the Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign, said:

“This survey adds to the mound of evidence demonstrating that giving every couple the option of getting a civil partnership would be the popular and fair thing to do. Over 76,000 people have already signed a petition calling on the government to extend civil partnerships, MPs from all parties support our cause, and countries such as France, Sweden, and New Zealand and regions of the British Isles like the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, and Isle of Man have already shown that mixed-sex civil partnerships are easy to introduce and warmly welcomed.

“The spread of mixed-sex civil partnerships across the world has happened in recognition of the fact that nearly all couples want some kind of financial and legal security and that marriage is just not for everyone. It’s an acknowledgment of choice and diversity. Our message to political parties about to fight it out in this June’s general election is that they have everything to win and nothing to lose by pledging to make civil partnerships are real option for mixed-sex couples in Britain.”

The Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign is supported by MPs, MEPs, and Assembly Members from the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green, and Scottish Nationalist Parties and also by individuals such as Owen Jones, Peter Tatchell, and Caroline Criado-Perez and organisations including Liberty, the Women’s Budget Group, and TUC Women.

April 18, 2017

Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign responds to news of snap election

The Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign has urged political parties to demonstrate their commitment to choice and diversity by pledging to extend civil partnerships to all couples at the upcoming general election.

Responding to the announcement by the Prime Minister Theresa May that there will be a snap election on June 8th, the Campaign Manager for the Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign Matt Hawkins said:

“When it comes to the debate over mixed-sex civil partnerships, an awful lot has changed since the election in 2015. The Court of Appeal has ruled that the unequal access to civil partnerships cannot continue indefinitely. MPs from all parties have given their backing to our campaign. Over 760000 people have signed a petition calling for the opening up of civil partnerships to all couples. Britain has arrived at a major crossroads with negotiations over Brexit and a snap election both on the horizon. Political parties have the perfect opportunity now to demonstrate that they want Britain’s future to be one built on choice and diversity by using this election campaign to pledge their support for mixed-sex civil partnerships.”

April 13, 2017

Response from Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign to introduction of mixed-sex civil partnerships in the Falkland Islands

Responding to the news that the Falkland Islands have introduced both equal marriage and equal civil partnerships, Campaign Manager for the Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign Matt Hawkins said:

“This is such positive news. The Falkland Islands have chosen choice and diversity over enforced conformity. They join a whole number of countries and regions – from the Netherlands to New Zealand, France to the Isle of Man – in recognising that every couple deserves the right to financial and legal protection and that every couple should have a choice over how they secure that protection. It’s wonderful news for the people of the Falkland Islands and great news for everyone who believes in equal marriage and equal civil partnerships.”