Well, I am married, and I was very close to posting a similar rant myself. I chose to get married and wanted the legal security for my relationship. But I don't think that makes me in any way deserving of the extra £20 a week. If there's capacity for a tax break, it should go to the lowest-paid in society (bring back the 10% band!), or to households that include people who can't contribute financially (kids, elderly relatives, disabled people). Not us.

And the thing that strikes me whenever they compare average lengths of marriages and cohabitations is that the cohabitation average is going to be brought down by relationships which barely get off the ground...