Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL]

Baroness Hamwee Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 17th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hamwee (LD)]

My Lords, this may have been one of those occasions when noble Lords felt that they should have started their speeches with, “As I was saying”. I do not think I have spoken on this subject before, although I have listened to a number of debates. My noble friend has taken every opportunity over quite a long time to seek to have the law recognise how so many couples choose to live their lives—and still do, despite the introduction of civil partnerships. I agree with the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss. I am not an expert and I have done no polling, but I do not believe this will affect the numbers deciding to marry. I hope it will not. I take what the noble Lord, Lord Bailey, said very seriously. His was an interesting perspective that we need to take into account.

I recall an occasion—the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, referred to some of this debate—when there was a determined effort to extend cohabitation rights to people sharing a household when one was acting as a carer for the other, or particularly when siblings were living together. I was never persuaded by that. Relationships can be very close indeed but are entirely different from cohabitation.

I heard a discussion on the radio a few days ago on the Government’s current consultation. One of the speakers, a woman—I say to my noble friend that I do not overlook the fact that either party may find himself or herself brutally discovering that cohabitation is not the same as marriage—described how, having supported her partner when she was the higher earner, she saw his career take off while she had children and, to care for them, reduced her working hours and lost chances for promotion. She had not realised that she could have kept up her national insurance contributions, nor what an effect this would have on her future financial situation, including her pension, in stark contrast to his.

The Bill deals not only with financial matters, including intestacy and the opportunity to arrange insurance cover on a partner’s life, but with the right to register the death of a partner. The block on that must be so hurtful. The noble Baroness, Lady Deech, referred to Article 8. I am sure we will have opportunities in a different context to discuss Article 8 in the near future, so today is not the day to discuss how far it must extend.

Unsurprisingly, my noble friend has done a very thorough job on the Bill. I will be interested to see what comes out of the Government’s consultation and any negotiations my noble friend will be able to have based on his Bill. I hope we may end up with a system that is as simple as possible and does not need the involvement of lawyers. The people who can readily afford them are probably the people who are least in need of this Bill. My noble friend seeks to modernise the law and to provide rights that many people mistakenly think they have. So do the Government, I assume, because you should not consult on something you do not want to do. Anything else would be too cynical.