Feminist government minister: "Marriage is irrelevant to public policy". Do you agree?

Question

"Harriet Harman, who has been accused of contributing to family breakdown by drawing up policies that benefited unmarried couples, claims in a new book that promoting marriage is not part of ministers' jobs... She also says there is no ideal type of household in which to bring up children – despite research showing that having two parents is best"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/1983066/Labour-Marriage-is-irrelevant-to-public-policy,-says-Harriet-Harman.html

Considering that she is the second-in-command in government, shouldn't she be a bit more concerned about the breakdown of family life instead of rewarding it?

Answer 1

Kommissar Harman is a known diehard feminist and a dingdong to boot.

Answer 2

She is making life easier for those families where the parents aren't married. In other words, she is doing something about the perceived "breakdown in family life".

"despite research showing that having two parents is best"

So since two parents is best, we should make life as tough as possible for families where that's not an option? (Struggling single mothers shouldn't get any benefits because OH NOES that would  encourage them not to get married?)

Answer 3

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/...

For someone in the frontline of politics, Harman could be strangely ill-informed about current affairs and I would have to brief her strenuously for appearances on BBC Question Time, trying to ensure, for instance, that she remembered the names of key players in the Middle East peace process.

Her views have had a disastrous influence, encouraging the state to preside over the breakdown in the traditional family. The results are everywhere - in crime, in benefits dependency, poverty and the rising costs to public services.

Yet, amid all this wreckage, hardliners still cling to their dogma. And none is more hard line than the High Priestess of British Feminism, Harriet Harman.

In an extraordinary interview published yesterday, she declared marriage was ‘irrelevant’ to public policy and described high rates of separation as a ‘positive development’, as it reflected ‘greater choice’ for couples - never mind the children.

If nothing else, Harman can be credited with consistency. Neither the facts nor the passage of time have changed her mind. She was preaching this dangerous gospel of feminist fascism when she was first elected to Parliament in 1982.

When I came to work for her as a parliamentary aide in the early Nineties, Harman was questioning whether fathers were necessary at all.

In her 26 years as MP, she appears to have learnt nothing from representing the poor South London constituency of Camberwell and Peckham. It not only has one of the highest rates of lone parenthood in the country, but is also one of the most deprived and crime ridden areas in Britain. Yet in Harriet Harman’s mind, these two points are not connected.

Answer 4

It certainly should be; marriage is a private affair and should be treated as such. You're opposed to discrimination; why should cohabiting couples be discriminated against in favour of married ones, when there is no evidence that one is better than the other?

Answer 5

Dam, we are in a world of sh*t.  "It's a huge sh*t sandwich and we all have to take a bite."*

There should be a rejoicing by the feminists.

Some kind of barbecue or something...

Let's not go, they might cook us...Today it's the men who are scared, intimidated and bullied.

They just had it today in the news-lots of women are breaking up with men because of money

(guy doesn't make enough money, etc.)

*Full Metal Jacket

Answer 6

Kids need 2 paRENTs but no marriage. Man will lose it all.

Answer 7

Of course no one agrees with that.

You can tell that clearly, she is not married :P

Of course a married family is better...it is well known that violence ,depression, and drugs  are associated with children only having one parent.

And obviously, a married couple have less chances of splitting, they are and feel more bonded than a non married one.

http://www.childadvocate.net/divorce_eff...

Answer 8

Interesting.

Let's see if she says that child-support and alimony is irrelevant to public policy.

I doubt it.

Answer 9

They want us all single wage slaves, far easier to control.

:  )

Thanks for all you work.

Are men really in this much s**t? haha, interesting times.

Answer 10

Jim, there is no conclusive evidence that married couples are better parents. Two parents does not mean married parents.

I am not surprised it is the Telegraph reporting this because, aside from the quality writing, it is a right-wing newspaper. They are out to get the Labour party while the going is good.

edit: That, Vegas Sideshow, is not true. Income is measured per household if the people are living together as a couple. I know The Sun thinks differently, but that's The Sun for you.