Marriage laws

That this House notes the Love Shouldn’t Wait campaign to make the marriage process simpler, fairer and fit for the modern age; further notes that fewer than half of UK adults are now married for the first time in recorded history; also notes evidence that cost and bureaucracy are major deterrents with 61% of adults citing the cost of weddings, and 26% say they would remove the mandatory 28-day notice period; notes that compassionate and urgent cases, such as serious illness, military deployment or visa deadlines, have opaque pathways to a quicker marriage ceremony, and that it is perversely now easier to get divorced; further notes that digital technology would enable faster verification and registration, as other countries including Denmark, Germany, America and China have already demonstrated; and accordingly calls on the Government to firstly support a review of how the statutory 28-day notice period operates, to allow a transparent and fair fast-track, yet still rigorous, process, secondly consider simpler and clearer national guidance, digital-first and written in plain English, so that couples understand their rights and responsibilities, and thirdly work towards alignment across UK jurisdictions, ensuring that Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland operate within a coherent, modernised framework.