Proposed Bill grants registered couples equal marital rights

Unmarried and long-term same sex couples came a small step closer to having the same legal rights as married couples last week with the introduction of a parliamentary Bill backed by the Law Society.

The Relationships (Civil Registration) Bill aims to give couples who undergo a civil registration all the rights that a married couple have.

However, as a ten-minute rule Bill proposed by Labour MP Jane Griffiths, it is unlikely to become law despite being given a second reading.A Law Society spokesman said: 'Although reform in this area is long overdue, this Bill is just one step towards the provision of much-needed rights for cohabitees.'A spokeswoman for the Solicitors Family Law Association (SFLA), which also supports the Bill, said the SFLA wanted to extend the rights to all cohabiting couples, rather than just ones who register.Victoria MacCallum