Labour must fight for progressive relationship rights

The UK is woefully regressive when it comes to laws and regulations affecting our relationships. The ban on no-fault divorce traps people in a “wretchedly unhappy marriage” (the words of a judge in a case last year where the plaintiff was denied divorce), British citizens with non-EU spouses need a minimum income for the state to allow them to live together in the UK, and, in Northern Ireland, marriage equality for same-sex couples does not exist. 

There are some glimmers of hope. I welcome the news today that the government is looking to reform divorce law to create no-fault divorce. Most of the UK has equality in marriage rights, and the stigma around co-habitation or divorce is slowly dwindling. But we have not yet gone far enough. 

While all of this case law is in the news, the Telegraph comment section seems to revel in publishing articles with titles such as “Ditching marriage might be the biggest mistake Generation Z makes” and “Marriage makes you stronger – 8 health benefits of tying the knot”. Despite recent progress, conservative elements are still claiming a monopoly on relationships and forcing their arch-traditionalist ideas on society. Even more worryingly, anti-LGBT rhetoric is once again raising its ugly head in relation to what children should learn about relationships.

We live in an increasingly fragmented world. Much of the political narrative focuses on the individual and their aims and aspirations. Even the Labour buzzword ‘aspiration’ focuses on individuals rising and often ignores ideas of community. How we relate to each other is intensely personal, particularly when it comes to sexual and romantic partners. A strong partnership can strengthen a person physically and mentally, and a toxic partnership can destroy someone’s life.

Labour needs to speak out on the importance of relationships, and the importance of people’s ability to choose whatever form of relating to others suits them best. Disappointingly, Labour in government did not implement provisions for no-fault divorce, despite this being provided for in the bill. Government and parliament bowed to the pressure from the Daily Mail and right-wing groups. Populist opinion should never affect Labour’s basic commitment to improving the lives of the many.

I fear that we are making a similar mistake with the commitment to end freedom of movement. Labour has the opportunity to speak out to protect the rights of the vulnerable, but instead is bowing to populist anti-immigration sentiment. In doing so, we are allowing hostile and reactive views to fester.

At the moment, the obstacles for uniting non-EU families can be financially insurmountable. Labour should be campaigning to raise the rights of those families, rather than agreeing with the populists and right-wingers who want to equal all migrant rights at the bottom.

Labour needs to claim these issues front and centre. Labour MPs must also be proactive in making sure any progress we’ve made so far is not reversed, and push for legislation to continuously advance protection and freedom in this area. We cannot sit by idly and allow conservative thinking to claim this ground as their own. We must speak out to raise awareness and fight for our progressive relationship rights. That includes the need to immediately reconsider our position on freedom of movement, not least due to the devastating effect this will have on people’s family and private lives.