British conservatism and the legal regulation of intimate relationships / Andrew Gilbert. [electronic resource]

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction -- Justifications -- Boundaries and questions -- Theoretical framework -- Chapter outline -- A final note -- 2. Conservatism and family law -- Introduction -- What is conservatism? -- The knowledge principle -- The change principle -- Conservatism and the family -- To what extent should the law support marriage and facilitate divorce? -- The clean break on divorce -- Should the State legally recognise same-sex relationships? -- The objection to same-sex marriage from natural law theory -- The conservative/libertarian view -- The conservative assimilationist argument -- Going further: a classical conservative argument -- Concluding remarks -- 3. Marriage and divorce in transition: The Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 -- Introduction -- The political context: the new right -- Thatcherism -- The new right, thatcherism and the conservative tradition -- The Conservative party and family policy prior to the MFPA 1984 -- The family policy groups -- Lessons from a letter to a child -- The Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 -- Genesis of the Act -- The divorce time bar: previous law and criticisms -- The divorce time bar: law commission proposals -- The financial consequences of divorce: previous law and criticisms -- The financial consequences of divorce: law commission proposals -- Analysis of the bill in Parliament -- The conservative preoccupation with the expressive, or symbolic, function of law -- Conservatives mostly disregarded the impact of the clean break -- Conservative distrust of experts and evidence -- Conclusion -- 4. Major change: family law and policy in the decade following the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 -- Introduction -- The major premiership: thatcherism after Thatcher -- Family law and policy prior to the Family Law Act 1996 -- Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985 -- Children Act 1989 -- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 the Gillick case -- Major change: some concluding thoughts -- 5. Divorcing rhetoric from reality: the Family Law Act 1996 -- Introduction -- The genesis of the Family Law Act 1996 -- The Law Commission reports -- The government's responses -- Main provisions of the Bill -- Analysis of the Bill in Parliament -- Pessimistic versus realistic assessments of the human condition -- Legislators' views of experts: a tension between trust and distrust -- Message-sending and the agency of law generally (again) -- Reece and a post-liberal interpretation of the FLA 1996 -- Concluding Thoughts -- 6. Commitment rewarded: The Civil Partnership Act 2004 -- Introduction -- The Conservative Party and homosexual law reform -- The Civil Partnership Act 2004: marriage-like, not marriage-lite -- The genesis of the Act -- The Bill in Parliament -- Official conservative position: conservative, liberal and libertarian strands -- The conservative dissent -- Sex in the shadows -- Class -- Concluding Remarks -- 7. An unnatural union: British conservatism and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 -- Introduction -- From civil partnership to same-sex marriage: a short history -- The background to the Bill -- The main features of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill -- Analysis of the Debates -- An Overview -- The diminishing of difference and the assimilation of the gay other -- Sex in the shadows (again) -- The centrality of religion in the debates -- Conservatives and conservatism in the commons second reading -- Conservative MPs in favour of the Bill -- Conservative MPs against the Bill -- Concluding Remarks -- 8. Conclusion.

Description based on print version record.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest affiliated libraries.