Star comment: End of the blame game is welcome

Not all marriages and civil partnerships work.

Though they are entered into with the best of intentions, it’s a grim fact that a large number break down. Though people expend considerable effort trying to make relationships work, not all do and it is inevitable that a high percentage will break down.

That being so, it is hard to believe the rules on divorce have been unchanged for so long. Legal separation, the division of assets and changes to child-caring responsibilities have for too long been the subject of archaic conventions.

Regrettably, divorce is a reality for millions of couples. A large proportion of those divorces happen simply because relationships run out of steam. Yet the rules in place have sought to attribute blame to one side or the other. Such posturing has been reductive and divisive.

Now the rules have finally changed so that an amicable divorce can go through without the pain, paperwork and huge legal cost attached.

It doesn’t mean the advent of ‘quickie’ divorces – and all couples contemplating a break-up should consider their options and if the decision is right.

Marriage and civil partnership must be taken seriously and the process of getting out of a marriage is also a very serious business. The effect on children is frequently catastrophic and now that divorces are being shaken up it is time to look too at outdated, matriarchal family courts in which equitable outcomes that are favourable to children are rare.

On the subject of divorce, in this day and age the thought that two consenting adults cannot easily call a day on their relationship is frankly bizarre.

We seem to be a country in chaos. The shocks of Brexit, the pandemic and war in Ukraine allied to concerns over a cost of living crisis underpin many woes.

The latest are the long queues at airports and petrol stations running out of fuel. The latter problem is being caused in part by protesters blockading oil depots in the Midlands.

A short while ago, the Climate Emergency was on all of our minds but it has slipped down the agenda as Vladimir Putin has waged an horrific war.

The upshot is that it is that campaigners seek to advance their cause and consumers find themselves facing turbulence.

It is good to lessen our dependence on oil, though the tactics of campaigners frequently have the opposite effect – alienating people who might be sympathetic were their lives not thrown into chaos as people disrupt others’ routines.