An article which appeared in the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday quoted from a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which suggested that marriage isn’t all that David Cameron and the Conservatives would have us believe. According to the IFS it isn’t marriage per se which makes the difference in terms of stability of relationship and child development; rather, it is the socio-economic background of the couple, the type of people who get married. Hmmm.

As Harry Benson, Director of Bristol Community Family Trust, pointed out,

‘The IFS research data actually demonstrates that marriage matters like mad. How they reached the opposite conclusion is beyond me. But their single biggest problem is how to explain why family breakdown has doubled since 1980,’ says Benson. ‘During that time, divorce rates have stayed much the same and yet the background factors – that they claim explain everything – have actually improved. Family breakdown should have reduced, not doubled!’

Even if we were to take the IFS study at face value, as true, the fact that our tax system is entirely disproportionate and unfair towards married couples with children still remains. CARE’s report, ‘the taxation of families 2009-10’ makes clear that the tax burden on one-earner married families on an average wage with two children is nearly 40 per cent greater than the OECD average and will be more than 50 per cent greater by 2012-13 if something isn’t done, such as introducing a transferable allowance.

Marriage is good for parents, good for children and good for society and it is up to us to ensure that the Government honour their Coalition Agreement commitment and recognise this too – in deed as well as word.