A Labour MP has confirmed he would not vote to ban the “weird” practice of cousin marriage in a fiery GB News debate.
Brent West MP Barry Gardiner suggested his opposition to Richard Holden’s Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill did not constitute support for consanguineous marriages.
Mr Gardiner was grilled on his position on Mr Holden’s Ten Minute Rule Bill just hours after the Basildon & Billericay MP accused Labour of supporting cousin marriage by refusing to support his proposed ban.
When asked by GB News host Patrick Christys if he would support a ban, Mr Gardiner said: “No, I wouldn’t.”
The response triggered gasps and boos from GB News’s live audience, with fellow panellist Chloe Dobbs saying: “Oh, my gosh.”
Clarifying his position, Mr Gardiner added: “This was never a piece of legislation that was going anywhere.
“It was a way of raising an issue through a Ten Minute Rule Bill.”
Mr Holden this morning 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.
Barry Gardiner confirmed he would not vote to ban the ‘weird’ practice of cousin marriage
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GB NEWS
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.”
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Barry Gardiner’s response triggered gasps and boos from GB News’s live audience
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GB NEWS
However, Mr Gardiner described Mr Holden’s description as “nonsense”, later pointing out how Queen Victoria had married her first-cousin Prince Albert.
Discussing cousin marriage in more detail, Mr Gardiner told GB News viewers: “There is a real issue here about the pressure that exists within some communities to bring people over from the village that they came from because it brings kudos to their families.
“That’s what’s wrong with it because parents are forcing, or the culture, enforces that on the kids, and they don’t have a free choice on who they marry.”
He added: “You may say it’s weird. I object to the cultural practice of forcing people to marry somebody who they may not wish to marry, but if somebody actually loves somebody who is their first-cousin, and they know the genetic risk they’re taking, are you going to stop them?”
However, fellow panellist Cristo Foufas highlighted the negative health consequences, while Reform Councillor Jaymey McIvor simply labelled the practice “weird”.
GB News viewers were left stunned – while Patrick Christys and his panel erupted at Mr Gardiner’s words
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GB NEWS
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.
However, the House of Commons did not sit today, meaning no legislative progress has been made in 395 days.
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.
However, pro-Gaza MP Iqbal Mohamed became the first parliamentarian to voice support for cousin marriage, pointing out that the practice remains “common” because it “helps to build family bonds and puts families on a more secure financial foothold”.
Cousin marriage remains a prevalent practice among 10 per cent of the world population, including in the Middle East and North Africa.
However, over 80 per cent of people marry their cousins in parts of rural Pakistan.
The rate also remains significantly above the global average in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran.
Despite cousin couples remaining relatively uncommon in the UK, consanguineous marriage rates stood at 43 per cent among British Pakistanis in inner-city Bradford in 2023.
Pro-Gaza MP Iqbal Mohamed was the first parliamentarian to voice support for cousin marriage
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First-cousin marriages are also statistically more likely among members of the Irish Traveller community.
A bombshell poll released last year by YouGov revealed Pakistani and Bangladeshi Britons are most likely to support first cousin marriages, with 39 percent of those polled saying it should be legal and 47 per cent backing the proposed ban.
Meanwhile, 77 per cent of white and Indian Britons support a ban, with the proportion soaring to 82 per cent among black Britons.
Labour received a plurality of votes from Pakistani and Bangladeshi Britons at the 2024 General Election, hauling in 44 per cent of the vote.
Research conducted by the University of Bradford found a child of first cousins is statistically more likely to develop speech and language difficulties.
The study also found a child of cousin marriage was significantly less likely to reach a good stage of development.
Separate research has revealed a child of cousin marriage is twice as likely to suffer from a birth defect, with an up to a one-in-four chance of developing specific recessive disorders.
Critics also fear there is a case for banning cousin marriage due to moral fears about exploitative matrimony.
GB News has approached the Labour Party for comment.