Civil partnerships: Law to change for mixed-sex couples
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All couples in England and Wales will be able to choose to have a civil partnership rather than get married, Theresa May has announced.
The move will provide greater security for unmarried couples and their families, the government said.
And it will address the "imbalance" that allows same-sex couples to enter a civil partnership or get married - a choice denied to mixed-sex couples.
The current system was found in June to be in breach of European law.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favour of Rebecca Steinfeld, 37, and Charles Keidan, 41, from London, who launched their own legal bid to be allowed to have a civil partnership.
The court said that the Civil Partnership Act 2004 was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The couple has welcomed the news, but said "legislative action" and a clear timetable was now needed from government.
The Scottish government is also carrying out a consultation on allowing mixed-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships after the ruling.
What is the law now?
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 set up a formal framework for same-sex couples, giving them legal and financial protection in case the relationship ended - as in marriage.
But the law defined them as a "relationship between two people of the same sex".
Then, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 legalised same sex marriage in England and Wales and the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 did the same there.
Since then, same sex couples there have been able to choose. But they are still not allowed to marry in Northern Ireland.
What are the problems?
After these changes in the law, marriage remained the only option for mixed-sex couples.
The government says there are more than 3.3 million unmarried couples in the UK who live together with shared financial responsibilities - nearly half of them with children.
But these households do not have the same legal protections as those who have a civil partnership or marriage.
Mrs May, who is in Birmingham for the Conservative Party conference, said the move would give all couples the same choices in life.
"This change in the law helps protect the interests of opposite-sex couples who want to commit, want to formalise their relationship but don't necessarily want to get married," she said.
Ms Steinfeld and Mr Keidan campaigned for four years to get the law changed and more than 130,000 people signed an online petition in support of civil partnerships for everyone.
The couple said the "legacy of marriage... treated women as property for centuries" and was not an option for them.
"We want to raise our children as equal partners and feel that a civil partnership - a modern, symmetrical institution - sets the best example for them," they added.
What will change and when?
The government says unmarried couples in a long-standing relationship often think they have the same rights as married couples.
In fact, they are not entitled to the same tax reliefs and exemptions for spouses and civil partners.
That includes the inheritance tax exemption and the marriage income tax allowance.
Also, if someone's partner dies, they have no automatic right to inherit their partner's estate - so they might not be able to afford to stay in the family home.
Bereavement Support Payments do not apply to couples who live together and they do not benefit from their partner's state pension contributions, with many occupational pension schemes not offering survivor benefits to such couples.
And unmarried couples do not have a guaranteed right to the ownership of each other's property on relationship breakdown - though they might be able to then get that through the courts.
The government said there were "a number of legal issues to consider, across pension and family law" and ministers would now consult on the technical detail.
But Equalities Minister Penny Mordaunt promised that the change in the law would happen "as swiftly as possible".
What do people think?
Mr Keidan said the couple had become "accidental campaigners" on the issue, but told BBC News: "It wasn't just about us. There are many, many thousands of couples who would wish to form a civil partnership.
He said he now wanted the law to change and to know when the first mixed-sex civil partnerships would happen.
Ms Steinfeld added: "We are delighted with this wonderful news from the government today.
"We thank the prime minister and the minister for women and equalities for finally announcing that they're committed to ending the current situation and the inequality… so that couples like Charlie and myself can finally formalise our relationship in the way we see fit."
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