Rich People Get Married And Stay Together But Poor People Do Not, Conservative Mp Claims independent.co.uk

Rich people get married and stay together while poor people do not, a Conservative MP has claimed.

Michael Tomlinson warned marriage appears to be disappearing in Government policy-making "just as much as it's disappearing in our poorest communities", as he contributed to the Budget debate in the Commons.

The MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole insisted more money should be spent on preventing family breakdown, which in turn would mean lower amounts are spent on dealing with the consequences.
"Because 87 per cent of high-earners marry, 24 per cent of low-earners marry – the rich get married and stay together, the poor don't. Why does this matter? Because where there is poverty, family breakdown is often not far behind – and while poverty is often a driver of family breakdown, crucially so too is family breakdown a driver of poverty.

"According to the Department for Work and Pensions, children who experience family breakdown are twice as likely to fall into poverty. And despite the chuntering from the benches opposite, the public really do get this – recent CSJ polling confirmed that young people aged 14 to 17 aspire to a lasting a relationship, just as much and they find that just as important as they aspire to a long-term career.