UK to make it legal for all couples to strike civil partnership

The UK government on Tuesday announced plans to change the marriage law to make it legal for all couples to enter into a civil partnership.

Under current rules, only gay couples have the right to civil partnerships.

Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement at the ongoing Conservative Party conference in Birmingham that she would end the discrimination against opposite-sex couples.

"This change in the law helps protect the interests of opposite-sex couples who want to commit, want to formalise their relationship, but don't necessarily want to get married," she said.

"As home secretary, I was proud to sponsor the legislation that created equal marriage. Now, by extending civil partnerships, we are making sure that all couples, be they same-sex or opposite-sex, are given the same choices in life," she added.

The move is aimed at providing greater security for unmarried couples and their families, in terms of tax and inheritance issues.

The UK's Supreme Court had unanimously ruled in favour of a heterosexual couple who had launched a legal bid to be allowed to have a civil partnership in June.

The court had ruled that the Civil Partnership Act 2004 was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, which had led to the expectation that the government would have to respond with a legal change in due course.

The UK's Civil Partnership Act 2004 set up a formal framework for same-sex couples, giving them legal and financial protection in case the relationship ended as in marriage. But the law defined them as a "relationship between two people of the same sex".

Later, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales and the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 did the same there, giving gay couples the choice between a marriage or a civil partnership. However, the same choice had been unavailable to heterosexual couples.

Tuesday's announcement takes into account the more than 3.3 million unmarried couples in the UK who live together with shared financial responsibilities. But these households do not have the same legal protections as those who have a civil partnership or marriage.

The UK government said there were "a number of legal issues to consider, across pension and family law" and ministers would now consult on the technical detail.

UK's Equalities Minister Penny Mordaunt said the change in the law would take place "as swiftly as possible".