The number of civil partnerships in England and Wales has seen its biggest yearly drop in nearly 20 years. Since the introduction of same-sex marriage in the UK on March 13, 2014, more couples are deciding to tie the knot with vows instead, with 6,925 marriages recorded in 2018. Additionally, a further 803 same-sex couples converted their civil partnership into a marriage.
For heterosexual couples, meanwhile, marriage rates have fallen for the third year in a row, according to the latest ONS data for 2020. They’ve reached a historic low of 20.1 marriages per 1,000 unmarried men and 18.6 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women. Only 785 civil partnerships were recorded in England and Wales in 2020, compared to over 6,000 marriages in the same year. This stands as the biggest yearly drop, equating to a 21% plummet.
It’s expected that the number of weddings, for all couples, will experience a post-pandemic boost in the coming months. In anticipation of this, law experts are highlighting the importance of pre-nups before converting civil partnerships to marriage, building an extra layer of security into the commitment.
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Civil partnership specialists , Rayden Solicitors, gathered the most recent ONS data to uncover trends and find the areas in the UK that still favour civil partnerships. Many same-sex couples who are still opting for civil partnerships are doing it in London, it found. With 264 civil partnerships between same-sex couples registered there in 2020, it’s the most favoured place in the UK.
The number in the capital was nearly eight times more than in the next most popular location – Brighton (34). Next on the list come Greater Manchester (26), Kent (20) and Devon (18).
“The battle for LGBTQ+ people to be allowed to have a marriage has been a long and hard-fought one, now couples are making the most of the right and privilege," Lorna Reeves, founder and director of Oh My Weddings, said.
“For a long time civil partnerships have had the implication of a second-class union, I cannot see the trend for them change within the LGBTQ+ community. While civil partnership vs marriage is absolutely within the gift of those marrying, being able to marry your love and life partner for this group in society is not taken for granted.
"I can't see that civil partnerships will ever come back to popularity, sure there will be those couples who prefer a civil partnership and beauty in this case is choice but for this community. There is, certainly in society, in my experience, a stark perceived difference in civil partnerships and marriage; the perception is that they just don't hold the same weight as marriage”.
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