Civil partnerships for all

We’re Rebecca and Charles, we have a toddler called Eden, a baby called Ariel, and we want to cement and celebrate our relationship by having a civil partnership. But we can’t because the Civil Partnership Act 2004 states: ‘Two people are not eligible to register as civil partners of each other if … they are not of the same sex.’

We met in 2010, became engaged in 2013, and together we were involved in the fight for same-sex marriage within our community. It is fantastic social progress that couples can now marry regardless of sex or sexual orientation.

We’ve been left, however, with a hangover from this important reform: Civil partnerships are still only available to same-sex couples. This limits the choice for mixed-sex couples, like us, who want to form a civil partnership - a modern institution that provides similar legal status and financial protections as marriage.

The current system doesn’t make sense and needs to be brought into line with places such as Holland and New Zealand where couples can choose between marriage and civil partnership.

Opening civil partnerships to all would bring the law up to date with the reality of family life: 3 million cohabiting couples with 2 million dependent children, all of whom currently lack the protection of marriage and choice of civil partnership.

From a personal perspective, the legacy of marriage – that it treated women as property for centuries, excluded same-sex couples until 2014, and still leaves room only for fathers’ names on marriage certificates – means that marriage is not an option for us. We want to raise our children as equal partners and feel that a civil partnership – a modern, symmetrical institution – sets the best example for them.

Sadly, the government has taken a different view. But with your support, we've mounted a legal challenge to their position: Our case will be heard in the Supreme Court on 15th and 16th May 2018. 

We're also fighting on the political front. We've generated extensive cross-party parliamentary support with politicians from every major party now backing our cause. The London Assembly unanimously passed a motion supporting mixed-sex civil partnerships, and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is in favour of opening civil partnerships to all. Conservative MP Tim Loughton’s private members’ bill to give mixed-sex couples the right to a civil partnership has also received cross-party backing, and is due for its second reading early next year.

The forces in favour of reform now significantly outnumber those who remain opposed. The tide turned some time ago and there is only so long that the government can continue to swim against it.

We won’t rest until the government recognises that opening civil partnerships to mixed-sex couples is fair and popular, and good for families and children. We are confident that it will, eventually, recognise this clear logic.