The Daily Mail today reports that cohabiting couples are twice as likely to split up as married couples, according to a ‘new’ survey based on figures collected between 1991 and 2001.
Am I the only one who’s getting really bored of these sorts of articles in the news? Correct me if i’m wrong, but NEWSpapers are supposed to have NEWS, not old stories. For as long as I can remember, there have been arguments bashed around about the virtues and benefits of marrying over cohabiting. No doubt, such debates will form part of the coming election campaign, with marriage hopefully being a key battle ground for the main parties.
The trouble with statistics is that they can be manipulated to support any argument. So for every survey the Tories come up with about the benefits of married parents for children, Labour will come up just as many numbers to support unmarried couples and single parents. I actually don’t have a problem with the politicians manipulating statistics- if they didn’t have any basis for their policies, I would be more worried. But please, please, please can the newspapers stop printing old news??
