Nearly three times as many opposite-sex civil partnerships as same-sex unions in Wakefield last year
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A change in the law around civil partnerships saw them extended to opposite-sex couples from December 2019, and the first of these in England and Wales took place on December 31 that year.
Office for National Statistics figures show 14 opposite-sex couples in Wakefield formed civil partnerships in 2021, compared to five same-sex civil partnerships.
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Hide AdIt means there have been 33 opposite-sex civil partnerships in Wakefield since a Government change to the law – 18 were formed in 2020 and one on New Years' Eve 2019.
Previously, only same-sex couples could enter into civil partnerships, but in June 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that this was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Around 13,400 opposite-sex couples across England and Wales have formed civil partnerships since the end of 2019, including 5,700 last year.
Martin Loat, of the Equal Civil Partnerships campaign group, said: "Nearly 6,000 couples formed a mixed-sex civil partnership in 2021. That's a lot of people – and families – who are now in a secure relationship, legally and financially, who obviously wanted an alternative to marriage.
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Hide Ad"The number is lower than in 2020, but we know that many many couples were waiting for the opportunity to have a civil partnership and preferred to remain unmarried otherwise. The pent up demand, despite Covid restrictions, natuarally boosted the number in its first year."
The popularity of same-sex civil partnerships across England and Wales has plummeted since the first legalised gay marriages took place in 2014.
In 2021, just 1,039 took place – down significantly from 14,900 in 2006, the first full year in which same-sex couples could form a civil partnership.
Rich Pereira, deputy director of demography at the ONS, said: "In 2021, the majority of civil partnerships continued to be between opposite-sex couples, following their introduction in late 2019.
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Hide Ad"Current data show the age distribution of people forming opposite-sex civil partnerships is older than those forming same-sex civil partnerships.
"Those forming opposite-sex civil partnerships are more likely to have been previously married or civil partnered than those forming same-sex civil partnerships."
He added that the difference may partly reflect opposite-sex couples in long-standing relationships preferring to legally register their union rather than get married.