| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
7.17 pm
Mr. Chris Davies (Littleborough and Saddleworth): The Bill divides Members of all parties and it is with some difficulty that I rise to speak as the spokesman for
the Liberal Democrats because I know that among our ranks opinions are equally divided. I hope that my hon. Friends will respect my views just as I respect theirs when they differ from mine.
I give the Bill a guarded welcome and support much that is in it. It is based on reality and its spirit credits individuals with intelligence and expects them to face the responsibilities that they have to face at a time of emotional crisis. It also recognises the limitations of Parliament in intervening in such matters, let alone in trying to resolve them.
Of course the Liberal Democrats support the family and the institution of marriage, but I am conscious that perhaps my interpretation of that institution and of the role that its members should play within it will differ from that of some of my colleagues and of other hon. Members. It is important, however, to recognise that the Bill is not about strengthening the institution of marriage, but about sorting out the problems when marriages fail. Some hon. Members may not have taken full account of that.
Marriage should be a partnership, entered into freely by individuals, which brings much good. It brings economic benefits. It is said that two can live as cheaply as one. That may be true, but there is no question that the accumulation of wealth is one of the reasons for the institution of marriage. The statistics and the evidence of single parents demonstrate that poverty hits people who are not part of that basic structure.
Marriage provides a framework for the rearing of children, security and happiness, I hope, for the individuals who are joined together it. It represents a commitment, publicly entered into by two individuals, that can strengthen both. That, however, is not always the case. Just as the individuals freely chose to come together, so either one or both have the right to choose at any time to take steps to dissolve that partnership and to go their separate ways. Parliament's job should be not to stand in the way of that choice, but to ensure, so far as possible, that the responsibilities that the individuals accept when they enter into a marriage are properly exercised, if necessary for the rest of their lives.
I hope that the right to exercise free will does not blind couples to the truth that almost all successful marriages have their ups and downs. The hon. Member for Lancaster (Dame E. Kellett-Bowman) referred to that earlier. There are many ups and downs, as well as much simply getting along. Rather than speak from my experience as a husband--although the years are starting to accumulate and to provide me with some respectability on that score--I shall speak from the perspective of a long-distance runner.
Anyone who has run 100 miles at a single stretch will know that we go through some bad and good sections. A niggling problem with a knee at 40 miles disappears by the time we get to 50. We may feel absolutely low one moment and, a few miles later, suddenly run strongly again and feel high. Some hon. Members may think that an illustration more of hell than of marriage, but a good marriage is not unlike that. The problems that an ultra-distance runner can experience may be an appropriate metaphor. When we look back from the finishing line, we appreciate how much we have enjoyed the experience, but it is not Parliament's job to force people to go the whole 100 miles. Individuals must make their own decisions.
I am sorry that the Bill does not deal enough with how marriages can be encouraged, how counselling can be provided where that is appropriate and how the difficulties of marriage can be explained to couples thinking of joining together in matrimony. The Bill is aimed at dealing with problems when marriages fail, but its strengths would be brought to the fore if emphasis were given to the desirability of encouraging the family and the institution of marriage. Some of the opposition to the Bill would thus be reduced.
Members of a marriage partnership must balance their short-term wishes with the fact that the break-up of the marriage and of their family unit can lead to much distress. It can lead to economic hardship, to which I have referred. It can cause great unhappiness among the children and, not least, for the partner who has been spurned by the other partner, to whom he or she has looked for so many years. It can also, however, lead to great unhappiness for the person who spurned the other partner because, in time, he or she may realise that the grass on the other side was not all that greener.
Sometimes, those misfortunes are all wrapped up together. All hon. Members have had experience at their advice centres of members of the public asking for assistance in dealing with Child Support Agency matters. Hon. Members have felt the full burden placed on people whose marriages have failed and who face difficulties, but let us remember that divorce is by no means a disaster for all. In many cases, it is a liberation for one party; sometimes it is a liberation for both parties.
Statistics were bandied about earlier suggesting that a high proportion of people who have become divorced regret that they entered into the process, but I have yet to meet a divorced person who still wishes to share a bed with or to live under the same roof as the person from whom they are divorced. On the contrary, more often, the venom with which people refer to their former partner is a stronger and more frequent emotion than the desire to recover that which they have lost.
The House has no power to revive a marriage that is emotionally dead. We should not seek to prevent individuals from making a free choice or add to the misery of an already distressing position. It has been said that the Bill will make divorce easier and that it will therefore contribute to an increased number of divorces. I do not think that it is true. By abolishing the concept of fault and by standardising arrangements, the Bill makes the process of divorce more clinical, perhaps even more acceptable, but it does not make it easier for people to drift out of a marriage or to run away from it.
In relation to cases where emotions run at their highest and, often, where the hurt goes most deep--where one partner is revealed as an adulterer--the Bill ensures that there is probably greater time for reflection and for a sense of perspective to be restored than at present. By abolishing the notion of fault and by clarifying the administrative arrangements for divorce, the Bill may increase the number of marriages. The majority of couples live together before getting married. A growing number choose never to get married. I suspect that fear of the future and of love eventually being replaced by the degrading procedures of a divorce court are reasons why they are reluctant to enter into the public avowal of commitment that marriage entails. The Bill may lessen those fears and make that initial commitment easier.
What about the children when a divorce takes place? Adults may have the right to choose to do as they wish, but I recognise that children have no such freedom. As hon. Members have said, there is evidence that children prefer their parents to stay together, however much they may argue. That may be so. Every loving parent will take that factor into account when considering their future relations, but now that the stigma of having divorced parents has, in effect, passed--because, sadly, it is commonplace--it must be recognised that the emotional upset of rows between parents who do not wish to be together is also a cause of pain. It is difficult for children to be in the middle of a household in which their parents have come to loathe each other. We must treat parents as adults in every sense of word and trust that they will place their children's interests high on their scale of priorities. I am not sure that we have the right to do other that than.
The 12 months of preparation before the granting of a divorce should be sufficient for the views and wishes of children to be impressed on the parents. I do not accept the argument that, in all circumstances, people who loathe each other must stay together for the sake of children. I welcome the Bill's provisions requiring agreement over responsibilities for the care of children, although it may be easier written in statute than undertaken in practice. I will seek clarification about that when the Bill returns from Committee. I hope that those matters can be resolved there.
Throughout my remarks, I have stressed the importance of individuals being ultimately free to make their own choice, but the initial commitment to a marriage implies the acceptance of responsibilities that may be lifelong. Where there are children, it includes parental care and a financial contribution. Where one person has developed a career while the other has maintained the home, it involves a recognition that both parties have a right to the economic benefits of that partnership. My party is united in its determination to support the pension splitting arrangements that were insisted upon when the Bill was considered in the other place. I welcome the Minister's commitment to the principle of that, but I endorse the view of the hon. Member for Bournemouth, West (Mr. Butterfill) that we want more detailed undertakings about the timetable for the necessary legislation. We see no reason for delays in bringing it forward.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |