As anyone who has even a passing acquaintance with Bridget Jones Diary or any novel by Nick Hornby is no doubt aware, the English have problems with romance. This is somewhat ironic from the “I know this isn’t literally irony, but what else do you call something that seems contrary to what you would expect?” and American male point of view, which almost invariably includes being informed by one or more American females that English accents are “sexy.” On the other hand, it doesn’t seem to surprise the English, some of whom (sic.) seem to build careers poking fun at the idea of any proper British romance having a happy-ever-after ending.

The very concept of “British-ness” implies a reticence to express emotion. This is the key to much English comedy. Whether in the form of a John Cleesean unwillingness to acknowledge the awkwardness of any situation (i.e., making the straightness of the straight-man the gag itself), or the archly over the top, such as the Benny-Hill-meets-the-vagina-monologues of your standard AbFab episode, which take the British resolve to never flinch as a dare, the implication is the same: Being British is a commitment to keeping a stiff upper lip, whether that lip would rather be smiling, laughing, screaming or crying.

All this may be so much ad homonym and over generalized character assassination of our erstwhile colonial pater familias. However, something quite real is going on in the UK with one of the main outcomes of romance in Western society. It seems that marriage rates in the UK have been largely in decline since the early 1970s, and have lately reached their lowest levels since records started being kept in the 1800s!

The National Office of Statistics in the UK reported recently: In 2006, there were 275,140 weddings in the UK, a fall of 4 percent since 2005. Marriages in England and Wales fell by 4 percent in 2006 to 236,980, which is the lowest number of marriages since 1895. In Scotland, marriages dropped 3 percent to 29,898, whilst in Northern Ireland marriages increased 1 percent to 8,259. The long-term picture for UK weddings is one of decline from a peak of 480,285 marriages in 1972.

Jill Kirby, the director of the centre-right Centre for Policy Studies thinktank, was reported by the Guardian UK to blame the declining marriage rate on the government, saying the welfare system and tax breaks penalised married couples.

“It’s obviously worrying that they [marriage numbers] have reached such a low ebb, but perhaps not surprising in view of the lack of government policy over the last 10 years encouraging marriage,” she said in a Guardian interview published March 26, 2008.

Interestingly, in the United States, a declining rate of marriage was heralded by the current Bush administration as reason for a host of pro-marriage legislative changes early in his tenure. Although comparable numbers to the ONS study cited are not readily available, statistics released yearly by the National Center for Health Statistics indicate a smaller but steady decline in marriage rates in the US since 2000.

Further Reading:

(April 10, 2008). 4% Decline in Marriage in the UK. The National Office of Statistics Report

(March 26, 2008).  Marriage Rates Fall to the Lowest Level Ever. The Guardian UK

(March 28, 2008).  Final and Provisional Marriage Rates from 2006 back to 1997.  National Vital Statistics Reports for the USA