Conservative party plans to incentivise marriage would create "second class" families, a British government minister said today, as the country's two main parties draw up dividing lines ahead of this year's election.
The Conservatives, widely tipped to win an election due by June, have pledged to recognise marriage in the tax system, although they are yet to provide any detail of their plans.
In an interview published in the Sunday Telegraph, however, Schools Secretary Ed Balls said although being married was the best way bring up children, sometimes things did not work out and Labour would support families of "all shapes and sizes".
"The idea of trying to socially-engineer family life through a tax policy which is designed to say that some types of families are first class, and other types of families are second class and should be financially disadvantaged, is hugely expensive and unfair," he said.
"It could stigmatise children and I don't think that's right. I don't think children should be told they are second-class kids because of things which have happened through no fault of their own or unavoidable reasons."
In an opinion piece in the Mail on Sunday setting out his plans to help mend Britain's "broken society", Conservative leader David Cameron reiterated the need to support marriage.
"A stable home is the best start a child can get," he said. "That's why we'll back commitment by recognising marriage in the tax system and we'll also end the couple penalty in the tax credits system which, unbelievably, encourages parents to live apart."
But Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who could hold the balance of power in the event no party obtains an overall majority in parliament - an outcome pointed to by some recent polls - sided with Labour in criticising Mr Cameron's plans.
"David Cameron is plain wrong to say we, the country, should spend billions of pounds providing a tax bribe for people simply to hold up a marriage certificate," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
"It is immensely unfair. What does it mean for the poor woman who has been left by some philandering husband who goes on to another marriage, gets the tax break and she doesn't?"
Reuters