UK Marriage at all time low

---

The Times reported on 27th of March that the proportion of Britons choosing to marry is at the lowest level since the figure was first calculated in 1862

The data, published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics, also shows a steady decrease in the number of marriages - The number of weddings in England and Wales in 2006 was the lowest for 110 years.

The 2006 figures show that the marriage rate for men was 22.8 per 1,000, and for women 20.5. The lowest rate in 144 years. And the number of marriages fell by 4 per cent in 2006 to 236,980, compared with just over 244,000 the previous year. There has not been a year with fewer marriages in England and Wales since 1895.

The average age for marrying has gone up by about five years since 1991, and in 2006 the average age for a first marriage was 31.8 for men and 29.7 for women.  In 2006, 92,870 marriages were remarriages for one or both parties accounting for 39 per cent of all marriages.

Mike Warburton, senior tax partner at the accountants Grant Thornton, said: “There really are no tax incentives for marriage these days. Labour removed the married couples’ allowance and when you look at that in conjunction with the way tax credits work then you are better off being a single parent.”

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “This is a sad indictment of the Government’s policies, which have penalised families and fuelled family breakdown.”

Since 1992 there have been more civil than religious ceremonies. The 2006 figures show that 66 per cent of ceremonies were civil, up by 1 per cent on the previous year, and up from 47 per cent in 1990. Religious ceremonies continued to decline in popularity, down by 7 per cent since 2005 and reduced by half since 1991.