Many happy returns David Lammy, who turns 54 on Sunday. It’s not yet a year since the non-practising barrister became Keir Starmer’s second lord chancellor. Whether he remains in post under the new chap is very much in doubt.
If it is adieu, how will Lammy’s term of office be remembered? Much of the legal profession, alas, will always associate his name with curbs on jury trials (though who knows what will happen to that scheme when parliament resumes after the break).
But perhaps with an eye to posterity, the lord chancellor chose the last day of the parliamentary term to unveil reforms to ‘archaic’ rules governing… weddings. ‘They say you can’t put a price on love – but too often, the cost of weddings puts this commitment out of reach,’ Lammy gushed in a press release.
He was opening a consultation on proposals to shift the focus of weddings ‘from bricks and mortar to people and promises’. They will allow couples to marry almost anywhere, ‘from forests and beaches to castles and canal boats, and even cruise ships at sea’.
The government has taken its time in announcing the reforms, which date from a 2015 Law Commission scoping paper.
But better late than never. The announcement was welcomed by Thames hire boat operator Hobbs of Henley, which said couples often want a one-stop floating wedding venue. Perhaps it’ll return the favour by naming its next vessel the MV Lammy?
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