MORE than 100 people in York opted for a civil partnership instead of marriage after a recent change in the law, fugures have revealed.

Opposite sex couples have been able to form a civil partnership since December 2019, with the first in England and Wales taking place on New Year’s Eve of that year.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 57 opposite sex couples in York formed civil partnerships in 2020, who were amongst the 7,700 in the country that did so that year.

Previously civil partnerships were only open to same sex couples, but in June 2018, the Supreme Court declared that this ruling was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing that this law was discriminatory.

A spokeswoman from the Equal Civil Partnerships campaign group said: “We are encouraged that over 15,000 people in England and Wales were able to form the legal and life relationship of their choice, ensuring security for themselves during a health crisis.

"Given the problems facing couples in 2020 when civil partnerships were not allowed to go ahead at all – or with so many restrictions that many couples decided to wait – we don't know how many more civil partnerships might otherwise have been formed."

Two pairs of opposite sex couples in York formed civil partnerships on New Year's Eve - one pair being Adrian Clayton, then 51, a hydro-power engineer, and Lara McClure, then 46, director for acupuncture courses at the Northern College of Acupuncture, who tied the knot at York Register Office.

They had been together since 1993, and wanted "a legal arrangement that recognised their relationship, and for their children's benefit", but felt that marriage wasn't right for them.

Lara told The Press at the time: "It is about choice. I'm not anti-marriage, but it is something I would dread rather than look forward to. I don't want a big family celebration, weddings are also a big expense."

However, same sex civil partnerships have continued to drop since same sex marriage became legalised in 2014.

Only four same sex civil partnerships were formed in York in 2020, two female couples and two male couples, which was down from nine in 2019, after a peak in 2011 with 36.

In 2020, 785 took place in England and Wales, which is the lowest figure since they were introduced in 2005.

An ONS spokesman said: "There were almost ten times as many civil partnerships between opposite-sex couples than same-sex couples in 2020.

“Same-sex civil partnerships in England reached a record low in 2020 and may have been driven by the pandemic restrictions, where registrations services were temporarily suspended.”