Legal age of marriage set to increase in UK

It could end child marriages.

A campaign has been launched in the UK to raise the minimum legal age to marry by two years, and it looks like it will go through. Looking to raise the age of when somebody can get married in England and Wales, MPs on Friday debated the campaign in the House of Commons. Conservative MP Pauline Latham introduced the private members' bill and it is expected to be approved by a majority agreement in parliament. If this act becomes law, it would mean that anyone who becomes in an underage marriage could see up to seven years behind bars. The current minimum age to get married in England and Wales is 16, but raising this will make it 18. The bill would also see the minimum age of civil partnerships also being raised from 16 to 18, as teenagers can now marry or be in a civil partnership as long as they have consent from their parents or guardians. While the draft is currently only on its second reading in the House of Commons, to make it law it will need to go through the same process in the House of Lords before it gets to the final stages. Once the second reading is done today, the law will need to be amended and debated in three more stages before it is passed on to the House of Lords. If it is passed as a law, there will be more restrictions placed on arranged child marriages.