Richard Holden MP Backs Ending Child Marriage in England and Wales.
Back in 2020, Richard Holden conducted a survey of local people in North West Durham to find out your views on ending Child Marriage in England and Wales.
The view was overwhelming. Over 90% of local people of all ages agreeing that the age should be raised to 18. With so much having changed over the last few decades, including the education leaving age being steadily raised to 18, it seems like a logical and overdue step.
Richard has been backing Pauline Latham MP’s campaign and she managed to secure a Bill to end Child Marriage in England and Wales and in January, I sat on the Bill Committee to guide the legislation through Parliament (www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=633207908133178&id=113108560143118).
Importantly, this also makes it illegal for someone under 18 to be entered into a “religious marriage” which doesn’t have civil recognition or to send someone abroad to be married off too.
Today, Richard spoke at both the final two stages of the law as they passed the UK House of Commons.
Richard was especially happy to hear from Virendra Sharma, the MP for Ealing Southall who spoke moving about his own mum who was married off at 14 today. You can read that here >>> https://hansard.parliament.uk/.../MarriageAndCivilPartner...
The Northern Ireland Assembly are now consulting on raising their age of a triage from 17 to 18. Richard also hopes that the Scottish Government will do the same soon too as the United Nations Convention in the Rights of the Child stipulates.