New UK gov't vows sweeping reforms including family policy, civil liberties, gay rights
May 21, 2010
The new Government has issued its “Coalition Document”, its platform for legislation and governing, including a section on Families and Children with “pledges” for reforms to family law and indeed to broad swaths of culture and society that affect children and families. It includes highly worthy but diffuse efforts such as “end child poverty” and “tackle the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood”, but also some interesting specifics, including:
- “Relationship support” will get stable, long-term funding and couples will be encouraged to use it.
- “Encourage shared parenting from the earliest stages of pregnancy” – including flexible parental leave.
- Conduct a comprehensive review of family law in order to (1) increase the use of mediation and (2) improve access [a.k.a. visitation] for parents and grandparents
- Free day care
- Reduce the couple penalty in the tax credit system
- “Crack down on irresponsible advertising and marketing, especially to children”
It specifically does not point to further loosening the no-fault divorce laws, but the coming “comprehensive review of family law” could certainly end up including that. Too often, here in the US, pro-family reform packages that start out like this one have ended up adding quickie unilateral divorce to the mix, and then stripping out all the other family-supportive stuff (especially if that stuff requires government funding or trained, dedicated personnel).
Other parts of the document promise to:
- End the detention of children for immigration purposes
- “Push for unequivocal support for gay rights and for UK civil partnerships to be
recognised internationally”
- Stop deporting asylum seekers who face prison, torture or death for being gay or transgender
- Change the law so that historical convictions for consensual gay sex with over-
16s will will not show up on criminal records checks
- Reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties and roll back state intrusion, protect trial by jury, restore rights to non-violent protest, review libel laws to protect freedom of speech, stop plans for national ID cards, registries and databases; investigate the creation of a British Bill of Rights.
- “Relationship support” will get stable, long-term funding and couples will be encouraged to use it.
- “Encourage shared parenting from the earliest stages of pregnancy” – including flexible parental leave.
- Conduct a comprehensive review of family law in order to (1) increase the use of mediation and (2) improve access [a.k.a. visitation] for parents and grandparents
- Free day care
- Reduce the couple penalty in the tax credit system
- “Crack down on irresponsible advertising and marketing, especially to children”
It specifically does not point to further loosening the no-fault divorce laws, but the coming “comprehensive review of family law” could certainly end up including that. Too often, here in the US, pro-family reform packages that start out like this one have ended up adding quickie unilateral divorce to the mix, and then stripping out all the other family-supportive stuff (especially if that stuff requires government funding or trained, dedicated personnel).
Other parts of the document promise to:
- End the detention of children for immigration purposes
- “Push for unequivocal support for gay rights and for UK civil partnerships to be
recognised internationally”
- Stop deporting asylum seekers who face prison, torture or death for being gay or transgender
- Change the law so that historical convictions for consensual gay sex with over-
16s will will not show up on criminal records checks
- Reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties and roll back state intrusion, protect trial by jury, restore rights to non-violent protest, review libel laws to protect freedom of speech, stop plans for national ID cards, registries and databases; investigate the creation of a British Bill of Rights.
http://www.uklgig.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2213&start=30
The above link shows that to a certain extent the British CP does have some effects internationally, the question is what effect they have and in which countries.
Posted by: Kitty | May 27, 2010 at 04:41 AM