Civil partnerships increasingly unpopular

The number of same sex couples entering into a civil partnership in the UK has reduced considerably in the last five months, new research has revealed.

According to a survey conducted by the Local Government Association, each of the 40 councils in England reported that the number of gay marriage taking place fell by an average of 55 per cent in the 12 month period from 2006 to 2007.

The findings were confirmed by data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed that while 16,100 couples entered into a civil partnership in 2006, only 4,060 did so in the first six months of 2007.

Civil partnerships became legal in December 2005, granting gay people the same tax and pension rights as heterosexual married couples.

Speaking to the Guardian about the findings, Tony Grew, editor of the pinknews.co.uk website, commented: "One reason for the decline may be that some gay people aren't interested in formalising their relationship. Some don't want to have all the formality of a civil partnership because they think it's the death knell of a relationship."

According to the ONS, 65 per cent of all marriages that took place in 2005 were civil ceremonies.

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