Shadow Minister Richard Holden warned Labour MPs were “turning a blind eye” to cousin marriage after today’s scheduled second reading vote was stalled.
The Basildon & Billericay MP put pressure on Sir Keir Starmer’s Government to support his proposed ban, with the Prime Minister last year rejecting his request to whip Labour MPs in support of prohibiting close family members from tying the knot.
Mr Holden told GB News: “If you don’t back first-cousin marriage, you can just say so.
“But Labour do back first cousin marriage and they’re trying to hide their secretive support for the practice.
“It is an issue bound up with serious health implications, closed communities, and the isolation of the vulnerable.
“I am appalled, but sadly not surprised, that Labour is once again turning a blind eye to the issue and allowing it to be kicked into the long grass rather than taking a genuine stand or even explaining why they continue to back first-cousin marriage in the UK.”
The Marriages (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill was due to return to the House of Commons for its second reading today, having initially been slated for January 17 last year.
The Private Members’ Bill was also listed in parliamentary business papers in March 2025 following an objection taken via a standing order.
However, the House of Commons is no longer expected to sit on January 9, meaning no legislative progress has been made in 395 days.
Sir Keir Starmer rejected Richard Holden’s request to back a vote in a heated exchange at PMQs
Labour could bring the bill back to the Commons by giving Mr Holden a guillotined slot or by making his proposed ban official Government business.
Such a scenario remains unlikely, with ministers instead insisting that marriage law remains under review.
Sir Keir previously rejected Mr Holden’s request for the Prime Minister to instruct his whips and the Leader of the House of Commons to allocate time for his proposed ban to be debated.
Mr Holden is now racing against the clock as all outstanding Private Members’ Bills will fall from the legislative agenda after the next King’s Speech.
The Tory MP would then be forced to reintroduce the proposed ban from scratch to kickstart the legislative process again in Parliament’s next session.
Only a small number of Private Members’ Bill ever return to the House of Commons for a second reading, with Fridays being exclusively allocated as the day to debate such legislation.
Tory MP Richard Holden accused Labour of ‘secretly’ supporting cousin marriage
Mr Holden’s bill is also not near the top of the list, meaning it will continue to be kicked into the “long grass” unless others fall or are withdrawn.
However, Labour MP Neil Coyle has voiced his support for a ban, warning: “The prevalence of infant mortality and birth defects alone warrants the ban.”
During an exchange at Prime Minister’s Questions last year, Sir Keir was urged to “think again” after No10 was accused of “instructing the whips to block this legislation”.
However, the Prime Minister replied: “We’ve taken our position on that Bill, thank you.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting later called on the NHS to apologise for publishing guidance that said first-cousin marriage had potential benefits.
Mr Streeting, who stopped short of backing the ban, said: “First-cousin marriages are high risk and unsafe, we see the genetic defects it causes, the harm that it causes. That’s why that advice should never have been published.”
