Labour’s proposals to reform the current law surrounding cohabiting couples

Speaking at the Labour Party Conference on 10 October 2023, Emily Thornberry, Shadow Attorney General, announced Labour’s plans to change the current law surrounding cohabitating couples should they win the public’s vote at the next general election. Although they have not announced exactly what their plans are to reform the law, they have vowed to bring in laws which will protect the economically weaker party within cohabiting relationships. This is something which has been campaigned for by organisations such as the Law Commission and Resolution for over 20 years and will hopefully be a positive step to those who find themselves suffering financial hardship as a result of there being no protection under the current legal framework.

In a recent publication, the Office for National Statistics announced that there are currently 3.6 million cohabiting couples in the UK. This is a 144% increase from data collected in 1996. This demonstrates how cohabitating couples are one of the largest growing family types in the UK and as a result there is a definite need for financial protection in family law to be afforded to those who find themselves in vulnerable situations upon separation.

In their 2022 report, the Women and Equalities Committee found there to be a ‘staggering’ number of individuals in the UK who still believed in the myth of ‘common law marriage’ and who still believed that they had the same financial protections in place as those who were married or in a civil partnership. Unfortunately, the reality is that most individuals do not realise these consequences until it is too late.

In their report, the Committee made various recommendations for the potential reforms that were needed within this area of law to achieve fairness and equality, but these proposals were rejected by the current Government. In their response to this report in November 2022, the Conservative Government stated that existing work surrounding the law of marriage and divorce needs finalised before they can deal with these issues.

Heidi Kavanagh, Paralegal at Sinclair Law said, “This announcement is therefore a positive step in the campaign for change within this area of law.”

Jo Edwards, Chair of Resolution’s Family Law Reform Group has stated that “This is a hugely welcome development and one that should be welcomed with cohabiting couples, together with practitioners who see the significant hardship cause by our current out of date law,” with Graeme Frase, Chair of Resolution’s Cohabitation Committee, adding that, “Today’s announcement is a welcome step in the right direction.”