Poll results in full | Read a more detailed account of the findings



BRITONS have turned against four decades of liberalisation in the divorce laws by calling for break–up to be made harder.

In a poll published in today’s Sunday Times Magazine, a majority of two to one married people backed the statement “divorce in Britain should be made more difficult” — 45% were in favour and 21% against.

There were smaller majorities among single divorced people and those cohabiting.

The results suggest a hardening of attitudes since a similar poll in 1983, with a significant increase in the numbers believing divorce should be made harder.

The poll also suggests that, despite the decline in the numbers marrying, it remains the “gold standard” of relationships.

A large majority among cohabiting couples and those in first or second marriages believe people should commit themselves to staying together for life. Even 49% of single divorced people agree.

The results suggest that the fall in marriage rates and rise in divorce prompted by the arrival of “no fault” divorce in 1969, and subsequent liberalisation, have made those couples who still opt to wed more determined than ever to make their relationships work.

“There has been a generation who have seen their parents get divorced and being alarmed by the effects of this tearing apart,” said Janet Reibstein, professor of psychology at Exeter University.

Full data from the YouGov poll, of 5,000 people, is published on our website.

The poll demonstrates that, while support for marriage is strong, opinions on what makes a wedded couple stay together have changed markedly.

With the increasing acceptability of cohabitation, staying together “for the sake of the children”, for a comfortable home and for sex have declined as factors in keeping marriages together. By contrast, “mutual respect” and “tolerance” have surged in importance.

Peter Kellner, the chairman of YouGov, said: “Now marriage is about having a give-and-take relationship between two people.”

While people are now far more tolerant of homosexuality than they were in 1983 and only 16% believe premarital sex is wrong, adultery remains taboo — 84% said it was always or nearly always wrong.

One surprise for modernisers may be the apparent reluctance of women to take charge in the bedroom — only 10% of married women aged under 50 said they initiated sex, and among the over-sixties this fell away to just 3%.

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