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What David Cameron actually said about marriage
Thursday 5 October 2006
But I also believe that marriage is a great institution, and we should support it.
I´m not naïve in thinking that somehow the state can engineer happy families with this policy or that tax break.
All I can tell you is what I think.
And what I think is this.
There´s something special about marriage.
It´s not about religion.
It´s not about morality.
It´s about commitment.
When you stand up there, in front of your friends and your family, in front of the world, whether it´s in a church or anywhere else, what you´re doing really means something.
Pledging yourself to another means doing something brave and important.
You are making a commitment.
You are publicly saying: it´s not just about me, me me anymore.
It is about we - together, the two of us, through thick and thin.
That really matters.
And by the way, it means something whether you´re a man and a woman, a woman and a woman or a man and another man.
That´s why we were right to support civil partnerships, and I´m proud of that.
Of course not every marriage lasts, and many couples are much better off apart.
Women must have an escape route from abusive relationships.
Every married couple has rows and difficulties.
But if you´ve made that public commitment, it just helps you try harder to work your problems through.
We can argue for ever about whether favouring marriage means disadvantaging other arrangements.
My approach is simple.
If marriage rates went up, if divorce rates came down - if more couples stayed together for longer, would our society by better off?
My answer is yes.
But supporting marriage is not just about money, or tax breaks.
It is insulting to the human spirit to believe that a relationship between two people is just about money, or even mainly about money.
It isn´t.
So recognising marriage more directly in the tax system is not enough.
Flexible working.
Family centres.
Relationship advice.
All of these things matter.
Let us as a society and as a culture value and recognise marriage more.
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