Sir Keir Starmer has signalled that he would block any attempt to ban first-cousin marriage, a practice which remains prevalent in some UK communities – despite the genetic damage it can potentially do to offspring.
In Bradford, one of northern England’s largest cities, almost half (46 percent) of the female Pakistani community were in a ‘consanguineous relationship’ meaning they have a common ancestor, a 2024 study found.
In December of last year, independent MP Iqbal Mohamed faced a great deal of criticism for opposing former Conservative Minister Richard Holden’s bill to outlaw the marriage of first cousins.
A senior Tory said it was ‘shocking’ that an MP would ‘defend this revolting practice’.
Mr Holden’s Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill is due to return before the House of Commons on Friday and, ahead of its planned second reading, Mr Holden pushed for government support.
However, Sir Keir, yesterday signalled that Labour would stop any such endeavour to introduce a legal prohibition on first cousins being able to marry in England and Wales.
Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Holden urged Sir Keir to ‘think again’ after Downing Street previously indicated it had no plans to change the law.
‘A marriage between first cousins carries significant health issues, many of which aren’t even knowable until post-birth,’ he told the PM.
‘When practised generation after generation, there is a significant multiplier effect.’
Mr Holden added: ‘In addition, the real impact for the openness of our society and women’s rights in our country are also significant.
‘After all, there are significant dynamics in having and sharing the same set of grandparents.
‘On Friday, this Government has a choice to let my Bill to ban first cousin marriage go through to committee stage.
‘Will the PM think again before instructing his whips to block this legislation?’
But Sir Keir signalled the Government would not be throwing its support behind Mr Holden’s Bill, with the PM replying: ‘We’ve taken our position on that Bill, thank you.’
While the genetic risks of first cousin marriage are hotly contested, they relate to a process called ‘unmasking’.
Each individual receives two versions of each gene – known as ‘alleles’ – from our parents, one from the mother and one from the father.
One gene can be dominant and one can be recessive, so for a recessive gene to become active and manifest in a certain individual then both copies of the gene must be the recessive. If you only receive one recessive gene then you are just a ‘carrier’.
Since cousins share grandparents, it becomes risky in first-cousin marriages because there is a greater chance that a child would receive two copies of the same harmful gene.
Experts say that children of first-cousin marriages have an approximately double chance of having a child with an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, with the danger increasing to 6 percent from about 3 percent in the general population.
However, not all members of the medical community believe that is a basis to prohibit the practice, as one doctor put it in a 2005 paper by Owen Dyer: ‘We know that the risk of Down’s syndrome increases with advancing maternal age, but we don’t see public education films urging mothers to have children younger.’
Experts started tracking the prevalence of consanguinity in Bradford – home to one of the UK’s largest Pakistani communities – in the late noughties.
Nearly 12,500 pregnant women were questioned about their relationship status with the father of their child.
The Born in Bradford study was later repeated with another cohort of 2,400 women between 2016 and 2019.
Last month, Wellcome Open Research, a platform operated by the esteemed Wellcome Trust, released the final results.
The study discovered that cousin relationships are no longer a ‘majority’ in Bradford’s female Pakistani community amid growing awareness of the birth defect risks.
A decade ago, a Government-funded surveillance project discovered that 62 per cent of Pakistani heritage women were in consanguineous relationships. This figure has since declined to 46 percent, researchers say.
He described cousin marriage as having gone from a ‘majority activity to now being just about a minority activity’.
Dr Wright added: ‘The effect will be fewer children with congenital anomalies.’
The Born in Bradford figures, it was said, may indicate that the number of Pakistani people marrying cousins across the UK as a whole is also falling.
It is believed that changes in family relations, higher educational attainment, and more stringent immigration laws are the causes of the decline.
Writing in their study, the team said: ‘It may be we are seeing generational changes and newly evolving societal norms.
‘But these changes need to be monitored to see if they are indications of a lasting change and they need to be considered in other settings where consanguinity is common to see how widespread these reductions in consanguinity are.’
Pakistanis make up more than half of the population of the Bradford West seat, which is represented by Labour MP Naz Shah.
The figure is 36 percent in Bradford East and nearly 17 percent in Bradford South – the city’s two other constituencies.
Birmingham also has an extensive Pakistani community, with up to 40 percent of people being of that ethnicity in regions of the city.
In the past, the highest classes of Britain frequently married cousins.
In the past, it was seen to be a means of strengthening ties and preserving family money and land.
In certain communities, like travellers, the practice is still prevalent even though it has become less popular.
Prince Albert and Queen Victoria shared grandparents and were first cousins.
The existence of ‘extreme’ inbreeding in the UK was exposed pre-COVID.
Scientists studying the genes of 450,000 Brits believed 125 had parents who were either first- or second-degree relatives. This correlated to a rate of one in 3,600.
When extrapolated to the wider population, the 2019 study, published in the journal Nature Communications, was reported as meaning that 13,000 Brits were conceived through extreme inbreeding.
First-degree relations include those between parent and child, while second-degree includes more distant, but still genetic close relatives, such as half-siblings.
The University of Queensland authors noted, given the nature of the subject and the limited variety of Brits included in the sample, actual rates could be significantly higher or lower.
Incest—sexual intercourse between immediate relatives—is prohibited in the UK even if consensual.
Marriages between certain blood relatives—as well as some step relationships—are also illegal. However, it is legal to marry your cousin in the UK.
Richard Holden, a former Conservative minister, recently introduced a bill to completely ban the practice.
Saying now was a ‘sensible time’ to look at the problem, Mr Holden said: ‘People already think it is illegal and then are surprised when you mention it isn’t.’
He pointed to evidence showing it heightens the risk of birth defects and claimed that it can ‘reinforce negative structures and control women’.
Mr Mohamed, representing Dewsbury and Batley, suggested that MPs should avoid ‘stigmatising’ the issue, which is seen as ‘very positive’ in some communities.
Instead of banning it outright, he said a ‘more positive approach’ involving advanced genetic tests for prospective married cousins would be more effective in addressing issues around it.
Mr Mohamed, who is part of the Independent Alliance of MPs – including ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, encountered objection from senior Tories for defending the practice.
Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick said: ‘It’s shocking that an MP would defend this revolting practice which is linked to birth defects and abusive relationships.
‘We know this is causing immense harm. This practice has no place in the UK.’
Labour declined to support proposals to outlaw marriages between first cousins.
Worldwide, one in 10 people is thought to be a result of a consanguineous union.
The prevalence of consanguineous marriage is estimated to vary globally.
Studies have put Pakistan as having one of the most elevated rates globally at 65 percent of unions.
This is followed by India (55 percent), Saudi Arabia (50 percent), Afghanistan (40 percent), Iran (30 percent) and Egypt and Turkey (20 percent each).
Data suggests the chance of a child of first cousins developing a genetic condition is up to 6 percent, double that of children from unrelated parents.
Although this implies that most children delivered in these situations will be healthy, there is no denying the elevated risk.
Children of first cousins may be more susceptible to developmental delays and chronic genetic problems in addition to birth abnormalities.
These can include diseases including cystic fibrosis, low IQ, cleft palate, blindness, heart issues, and even a higher chance of newborn death.
They were adamant about outlawing first-cousin marriages back when I was a child, but nothing changed.
For generations, people have been marrying their first cousins.
While many people have had children with anomalies, my grandfather’s sister married her first cousin and they produced children without any.
Prince Leopold was born with haemophilia B, a form of haemophilia, and died of a haemorrhage at the age of thirty. Prince Leopold was the son of Queen Victoria.
To avoid upsetting the Labour voters, Keir Starmer will not forbid these unions because that would mean having a backbone and the leaders of the UK seem to be devoid of one.
This man is so anti-British that it’s unreal.
This is huge and will be a lifelong burden on the UK, and this includes those who have come from elsewhere, and who have been fully assimilated into our society.
Resistance is Futile!
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 