No-Fault Divorce Bill dropped following the Prorogation of Parliament
When Boris Johnson prorogued the House of Commons, all bills passing through Parliament were automatically dropped. They may never be brought back either. There are currently 12 bills going though Parliament, of which the No-Fault divorce bill is but one.
The No Fault Divorce Bill sought to pave the way for divorce with more amicable separation. This is law would have made a real impact on couples across the country. Many couples are not prepared to make fault-based allegations must now wait for up to two years with consent to be divorced or five years without consent. This cancellation increases the likelyhood of abusive partners to trap their spouses in marriages, causing further upset for families.
Although, the majority of Parliament were in favour of the no-fault divorce bill, very few were trying to push it through quickly. The slow progress of the bill could be responsible for it getting dropped.
Ex-Justice Secretary David Gauke, who drew up the law, said he was “disappointed” the bill had been halted. He said: “Divorce reform is long overdue and the bill had overwhelming support amongst the public and in Parliament. I hope Parliament can return to this ASAP.”
Carol Sullivan, Managing Director of Divorce Negotiator, said "This is an atrocious setback for divorcing couples, who are already suffering divorce the overwhelmingly poor performance of the divorce centres. Every divorce centre has a huge backlog of cases, and this is likely to make matters even worse."
With over 100,000 divorces every year, many have been waiting for the No-Fault divorce bill to become law before proceeding with their divorce. This will now cause those people to have to think otherwise about their divorce plans.