Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Bill

Does my hon. Friend agree with his researcher that marriage has sexist connotations?

I am reading out her personal and passionately held views. I certainly would not make any judgmen...

I have heard equally powerful testimonies from those who are the product of broken marriages and ...

That is an excellent point. Frankly, whatever form the legal joining takes, we cannot legislate f...

My hon. Friend is making a very powerful speech and it is really interesting to hear the thoughts...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. In reading this real-life testimony and talking about th...

I completely agree with my hon. Friend that all true followers of a faith would absolutely abhor ...

That needs no further comment—it was brilliantly put, as always, by my hon. Friend. I look forwar...

My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) referred to the principle...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent contribution and he is absolutely right. It is interesting that...

It is a great pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge), w...

I had the great privilege to take a couple of private Members’ Bills through the House myself, on...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I am forever indebted to him for his sterling work o...

Thank you for calling me so early in the debate, Mr Deputy Speaker. Let me add my comments to tho...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful and personal point, and we all admire him for his bravery in ...

I thank my hon. Friend. He is a very compassionate and good friend of mine, and he is absolutely ...

Some time ago, when I was taking the Bill I referred to earlier through the House, one of my cons...

I could not have put it any better myself; that is absolutely the right approach and the right th...

It is always a pleasure to be called to speak by you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and to see you in the Ch...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is good that the Bill imposes on the Minister the duty to consu...

I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention; I was a great fan of his private Member’s Bill...

My hon. Friend will be aware from his legal background that marriage or civil partnership affords...

I agree, and as always my hon. Friend brings his expertise in that industry to the Chamber. Yes, ...

We are used to this tradition of Friday speeches. The whole point is that we are giving a new rig...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I could not have put it better myself. This is about...

I cannot emphasise enough how critical it is that we get the message out that there is no such th...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that we need to get the message out there. Ironically, ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will in just a moment.

My hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Victoria Prentis) asks how ...

The hon. Gentleman has just answered the question I was going to ask. However, does he agree that...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his welcome intervention. I hope that that is indeed the case.

My hon. Friend is making a number of powerful points. Does he agree that there is a case for the ...

Yes, absolutely. There may well be a case for having a publicity campaign to advise people of the...

Order. I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman. As I announced earlier, and it was supporte...

I thank colleagues and everybody attending our proceedings today for that demonstration of suppor...

I start by agreeing with your extremely wise words on the evil that was done in New Zealand, Mr S...

It is important while discussing this issue that we pay tribute to the hon. Member for Washington...

My hon. Friend is right to add that.

As I said, this Bill does two wonderful things with wh...

Forgive me if I am wrong, and I imagine that it would be hard to measure, but many of the people ...

That is probably the strongest argument for it, but my hon. Friend has already said that his cons...

I completely respect my hon. Friend’s view, but the reality is that there are 3.2 million opposit...

We will find out in due course when we pass this Bill whether that is the case. My fear is that t...

I assure my hon. Friend that where there are different options—in France for example—the divorce ...

At the moment, the dissolution rate for civil partnerships in the UK is higher than for marriages...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for East Worth...

My hon. Friend is not correct. If a child is born before 24 weeks with signs of life, the birth w...

My hon. Friend has cleared up that point. Nevertheless, this is an important part of the Bill.