The government is wrong to delay cohabitation reforms, says David Allison
On 6 March the government finally announced its response to the Law Commission’s report Cohabitation: The Financial Consequences of Relationship Breakdown. As this was outside the usual six-month period within which, by convention, the government responds to Law Commission reports we might have expected a thorough and considered response and some firm proposals for implementation. Instead what we got was a “whitewash” from a government too scared of the tabloids and the “old guard” to implement a piece of progressive legislation that is desperately needed. I don’t forget of course that this is the same government that implemented the Civil Partnerships Act 2004, arguably one of the most progressive pieces of legislation of its time. But, of course, that was under pressure from . Without that pressure it seems that this government is not willing to act.
Why do I say a “whitewash”? In her written ministerial statement Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said that the report had been carefully considered and that the government had decided to seek research findings
