Don’t judge my family…

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

A new, independent and non-partisan campaign, Don’t Judge My Family has been launched in response to the Conservative proposal to give £3 a week to a third of married couples, which has come under fire from charities, campaigners and celebrities alike.

The campaign has been inspired by J.K. Rowling’s article in the Times this week, in which the author of the Harry Potter books wrote:

“Maybe you know people who would legally bind themselves to another human being, for life, for an extra £150 a year? Perhaps you were contemplating leaving a loveless or abusive marriage, but underwent a change of heart on hearing about a possible £150 tax break? Anything is possible; but somehow, I doubt it.”

David Cameron has said that the new Tory policy is to “send a signal” that marriage is better than any other type of relationship. The new campaign aims to “send a signal” back that it is not for government to judge a family or its legitimacy through the tax system.

The issue has clearly touched a nerve: within just a few days, 1,500 supporters have already signed up to the new campaign on Facebook.

Innovatively, the campaign is asking those eligable for the £3 a week benefit to pledge to give it to charity if they can – and in just a few days, over £30,000 has already been pledged to charities that support families including Gingerbread, Relate and Barnados.

Polly Toynbee has written about the campaign in her column in today’s Guardian, saying:

“A new campaign launches today, inspired by JK Rowling’s splendidly outspoken attack on the Tory marriage bribe. Don’t Judge My Family, a website set up by a Labour supporter, asks people to sign up to pledge their £150 annual Cameron marriage bribe to donate to one of a list of charities for single mothers, abused wives, war widows and poor families, with everyone posting up photos of their families of all kinds and shapes. Labour and the Lib Dems need more of that. Three weeks is a very long time in an election campaign: with two more debates to come, everything is still to play for.”

But the campaign welcomes supporters from across the political spectrum. If you’re angry with the Tories’ plans, you can go to www.dontjudge.org.uk to sign up.