Almost one in 10 Britons believe marriage between first cousins should be legal, according to new polling. The figures, published today by YouGov, show that while 9% of adults nationwide think cousin marriage should remain legal, this proportion rises to 39% within the British Pakistani and British Bangladeshi communities.
While marriage between first cousins is currently legal in the UK, in December Conservative MP Richard Holden called for the practice to be banned. Parliament is currently reviewing his proposed legislation, with the bill’s second reading planned for July. Holden has argued that the offspring produced by first-cousin marriages are roughly twice as susceptible to birth defects, and that a ban should be enforced for the sake of public health and women’s freedom.
