Give Us A Break

As David Cameron has made clear at PMQs, he never did have any proposal, of no potential benefit to me personally, for the recognition within the taxation system of marriage as a public good in itself. It was something to do with having children, in fact a related but different public good for which other fiscal recognition rightly already exists. And it was something to do with civil partnerships, which Cameron does not want to extend beyond the same-sex unrelated couples to whom they are arbitrarily restricted despite their not needing to be consummated, but instead wants to declare to be marriages, a view by definition held only on the outer fringes of cultural Marxism, and accordingly not held by Barack Obama or Elena Kagan.

No, there will be no restored recognition of marriage by the party that abolished that recognition, but only when we restore the party that voted against that abolition. The party of the early Labour activists who resisted schemes to abort, contracept and sterilise the working class out of existence. The party of the Catholic and other Labour MPs, including John Smith, who fought tooth and nail against abortion and easier divorce, not least including both Thatcher’s introduction of abortion up to birth and Major’s introduction of divorce legally easier than release from a car hire contract. The party of the Methodist and other Labour MPs, including John Smith, who fought tooth and nail against deregulated drinking and gambling.

The party of those, including John Smith, who successfully organised (especially through USDAW) against Thatcher’s and Major’s attempts to destroy the special character of Sunday and of Christmas Day, delivering the only Commons defeat of Thatcher’s Premiership. The party of the trade unions’ numerous battles to secure paternal authority in families and communities by securing its economic base in high-waged, high-skilled, high-status male employment. And the party of the trade union banners depicting Biblical scenes and characters.

Roll on electoral reform.