1. CONSERVATIVES. (new right)
-universal credit (£26,000 cap)
-child benefits frozen until 2013
-£50,000 cut off CB (not qualified.)
-Bedroom tax- 1 bedroom = 14% off 2 bedrooms= 25% off
-Over 25 years old to get a house
-Ulterate early intervention (social workers should have more power to take a child away from a
problemed family)
CRITISISM AGAINST CONSERVATIVES.
-Foulcoult: Criticises social workers having too much power ''thought police''
-Greer:Radical Feminist: a lot of conservatives perpetuates sexual D of labour, Big Society
encourages wives to stay at home.
-Increases in homelessness.
-Abott+Wallace: Marriage tax allowance promises SPF and cohabiting families material deprivation
-Garnam: Criticises £26,000 cap effects extended families and their children. Freezing of child
benefits will effect children. Ulterate early intervention, Remove children from parents leads to
crime.
-fawsett society- The conservatives cuts are hurting woman more than men short start centres cut,
Women suffer smaller pentions.
LABOUR.
-Tony blaire: New deal + Gay equality
-Gordon Brown: Maternity leave which is interchangeable with paternity leave this law will be
passed in 2018. Family intervention Project. Housing policy supporting the housing act of 1977
which cost £20b pregnant teens get houses first priority. Gay equality.
-Phillips:Labour created broken Britain (too much welfare). Disapproves of gay families.
Lack of father figure causes a problem as children end up not respecting authority.
-Tatchell: Breach of human right ''labour didnt create gay equality''
-David cameron: Trying to get the gay vote
-Barlow and Duncan: New labour no different to conservatives they both strongly support N FAM

2. MARRIAGE AND COHABITATION
Decline in marriage rate in England and Wales.
-Robert Chester: popularity of marriage
1. people are marrying later in life- They are prioritising career before settling down to start a
family. 2. Economic Factors- Money is saved to cope with rising unemployment, economic
instability and greater housing costs. Reluctance to commit to a long term relationship.
-Brown: Decline in forced marriage
1. end to shotgun weddings- marriage rates have declined because the majority of parents no
longer insist on a marriage if the male partner has made his girlfriend pregnant. - Marriage
Based on 'Shotgun weddings' were unstable and caused great unhappiness between the
couple affected. Societies tolerance has meant that people can find alternatives to forced
marriages.
-Cameron: Make marriage more popular (Liberal democrats oppose ''unfair to SPF'')
1. he has pledged to introduce new tax breaks for married couples. It would give married
couples tax relief worth £150 per year.
2. State should encourage more people to get married because ''marriage acts as a stabiliser''
-Tatchell: Gay marriage
1. gay couples can have civil partnerships but cant get married in church.
2. He said some heterosexual couples wanted civil partnerships because they objects to the
''patriarchal history of marriage and being called husband and wife''
Fletcher: Remarriages create reconstituted familes
– Divorce doesnt mean the end of the N FAM. Its a stepping stone from one nuclear FAM to
another.
– People looking for the perfect marriage and so use failed experiences to make a success of
second one.
Germaine Greer ''the whole woman'': marriage traps women.
-women are vulnerable, men have been exploiting women for 50,000 years
-Patriarchy male dominance, They now want a matriarchy.
-society that pressures women into becoming wives or 'female consorts' of men. Women must be
able to adore their husbands and serve his interests.
-men use their power in the marriage to maxmize his freedom at the womans expense. Men need
marriage more than women to declare housework tasks the husband dont wanna do. MARRIAGE
SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS.
COHABITATION
causes and consequences of co habitation
JOHN CHANDLER (3 types of cohabitation)
– short term- live together as partners to wait for their divorces to be finalised from previous
marriages (waiting until its legal) then they will get married and stop cohabiting
– Medium term- 'Try before buy' they test out living with the person and experience it before
deciding to get married.
– Long term- (life partners) tend to get equal divorcing rights.
GIDDENS: plastic sexuality
– He believes more people will co habit because plastic sexuality means that sex no longer
leads to childbirth due to contraception. Allows couples to live together without having
children. Reducing the chanced of illegitimacy. There is more SERIAL MONOGOMY.
DAVID CHEAL (post modernist) – Diverse going up.
-Diversity families have fragmented marriage as individuals have much more choice about how
they live their lives. Causes secularisation which allows people to negotiate their relationship with
others.

3. ALLAN AND CROWE ( popularity of cohabitation)
– more people cohabiting because there is more social tolerance in society. Cohabitation is no
longer seen as living in sin. ''sexual freedom''
– teenagers going to universities has freed them from parental influence and lef to greater
chances of them cohabiting.
– Banks are more likely to allow cohabiting couple to take out mortgae
– the divorcee may find another sexual partner and start the process again.
MORGAN (danger of cohabitation) ''2012 57% cohabitation families have children, less than 4%
stay together''
-Marriage is going out of fashion- Worry trend where less people are getting married, causing
serious decline in marriage rate, cohabitation is replacing marriage.
-cohabitation is unstable- causes more broken families.
SAM ROSENIL (gay cohabitation) main form of gay marriages
-tolerance has allowed gay/les fams to live cohabiting openly before civil partnership
-decline of the heterosexual life cycle allowed gay couples to have equal status to the nuclear life
cycle. Individuals are being 'released' from heterosexual scripts and the patters of straight marriage.
DIVORCE (FOR DIVORCE) ''divorce should be made easier''
COLIN GIBSON:changing social attitudes
1. marriage is temporary: Marriage is seen as a relationship rather than contract for life. Less
status and authority.
2. Divorce accepted in society: Divorce is an acceptance solution to a failed marriage and a
way out of a marital difficulties. There is less stigma attached to divorce.
3. Increase in Selfishness: Thatcherism in the 1980's creased more selfishness in society so
divorce became more popular as partners wanted to maximise their personal wealth through
divorce.
4. Secularisation: Decline of religious values in society has meant that marriafe gas less
importance in peoples lives.
CAROL SMART – impact of john major. 199 family low act made divorce harder because it
prevented a clean break of the partners. Couples ought to go through meditation with a view to
creating reconciliation rather than divorce.
SOMERVILLE: liberal fem.
– Greated freedom for women- women have made towards equality in the UK, woman have
become more assertive and confident.
– Divorce creates symmetry in marriage: when men do not take on their full share of
responsibilities, they ''should be shown the door.''
– Divorce reflects the increased pluralism of the family until in society
GERMAINE GREER ''the whole woman''
– divorce is the way out! It is an escape from patriarchy the hight divorce rate in the uk is due
to unhappiness of wives.
– Women realised that they dont need to be trapped into empty shell marriages. The children
suffer more harm when couples are forced to stay together. Divorce can mean an end to
unnecessary stress.
SEGREGATED FAMILIES.
Women should be encouraged to divorce and live in SPF's and develop Lesbian relationships so
they can escape from patriarchy.
FLETCHER (agrees with somerville)
-High divorce supports N FAM.- the rise in the divorce rate is evidence that people expect and
demand more from their marriages. People divorce because they want to be in a perfect marriage.
Which they see is attainable with a different partner.

4. ARGUEMENTS AGAINST DIVORCE
MURRAY (NEW RIGHT) hostility in divorce- against casual sex.
– Divorce is dysfunctional- an increase divorce rate means more single parent families, which
are harmful to society. SPF lack father figures and therefore lack respect for authority in
society.
– SPF;s are responsible for many social problems such as crime, drug culture and educational
failure. They live in an underclass and are dependant on welfare. Divorce is evidence of
Moral Decay which links back to David Camerons “Broken Britain”
– Social Policy is harmful- he criticises the uk divorce laws and says that they made ''Britain
the divorce capital of Europe''. They have led to social and moral disintegration of society.
– The state reassessed the importance or the N FAM by making it clear that divorce is not
acceptable. eg. Divorce is banned for the Philippines.
DENNIS (Divorce and the loss of functions in the N FAM)
– Divorce has reduced the number of N FAM in society which means it can no longer carry
out its functions effectively. The family plays less of a role in health, wealthfare or
education, because there is only one parent present.
– He argues that the close and supportive relationship that used to exist have disappeared
because of the high divorce rate.
DR KIERNAN. (effects of broken home)
– Divorce causes a lot of negative side effects for children. They have higher rates of
experiencing behavioural problems.
– They are distracted and under considerable emotional pressure dinging it hard to
concentrate.
– They seek the attention of their divorcing parents by being truant and developing an anti-
school sub- culture. There is a significant increase in anti social behaviour and teenage
pregnancies with these children.
– They may experience other problems such as financial hardship, stress from family conflicts
and declining ability of the parents to cope with their parental roles.
BURGHES (link between education and divorce)
– good education creates higher income. Money smooths out the rough edges of a marriage.
– If students drop out of uni or A levels they are more likely to drop out of marriage
– failiour to study = poor education= poor job= poverty= divorce.