In 2018, social liberals (many of whom decried the unravelling of four decades of integration between Britain and the European Union) were outraged by the case of Tini Owens who was told by the U.K. Supreme Court that she would have to wait until 2020 to divorce her millionaire husband of 40 years. Then, British law required that if one party contests the divorce (as Mr. Owens did), a waiting period of five years must ensue. The exceptions are desertion, adultery, and unreasonable behavior; none of which were applicable. But this is set to change after last week when the conservative-controlled parliament moved to introduce the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation bill, instituting a long-awaited policy of “no-fault” divorce.
Most conservatives would agree that liberalizing divorce is more a symptom than a cause of the demise of marriage. Nevertheless, shouldn’t they be concerned that their own government delivered this latest blow?
Comments