i Editor's Letter: Coalition 'marriage' is a bit of a sham

Marriage has been a hot topic in the news recently, whether looking at the more serious newspapers, or celebrity gossip magazines. From the divisive debate over the right of a gay couple to marry in church, or the more recent  wedding of the 65-year-old Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood and the 34-year-old Sally Humphreys, and not forgetting our very own Luke Blackall, the topic has not been far from the front pages (at least on most shelves in the newsagents’ racks).

But I can’t help but feel slightly cheated after one marriage that we were led to believe was genuine has turned out to be a bit of a sham. No, not Kate Winslet and the wonderfully named Ned Rocknroll, but the other celebrated couple of David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

When the two party leaders skipped merrily into the aptly named Downing Street Rose Garden in May 2010 to give their first joint press conference, they gazed happily at one another, gently touching each other’s arms and laughing at each other’s jokes. 

But the public were left holding the confetti yesterday when the expected renewal of marriage vows failed to materialise. You see, despite reciting their vows in a post-election bliss that sunny summer afternoon, they say they weren’t actually in love and were never married in the first place. They denied an affair even took place, let alone a consummation. There was no touching or giggling, the flirting was a distant memory.

And here’s the twist: if there was no marriage in the first place, there can’t be a messy divorce – only an “amicable split”.

Stefano Hatfield is away

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