Used courtesy of the Grimby Evening Telegraph

In recent days, there have been pages and pages of coverage of the supposed crisis in the Conservative Party brought on by a dispute about whether or not there should have been a free vote by MP's on the Children and Adoption Bill - but little coverage of the excellent debates in both the Commons and Lords.

I'm sure you will have gathered that the heart of the argument was whether or not unmarried couples should be allowed to adopt.

How much has been heard about the thousands of committed married couples who want to adopt but are being prevented from doing so by the authorities not because they are considered a danger to children but because of trivial, politically correct reasons?

The Bill rightly seeks to remove some of the hurdles over which these couples must jump. This is obviously to be welcomed but on the issue of the rights of unmarried couples to adopt, we have heard little.

Is it really unreasonable to insist on couples making the public commitment of marriage to each other before they commit themselves to the onerous responsibility of adopting a child?

It is a fact that unmarried couples do split up more often than those who are married. Surely this must be a legitimate point for debate.

The child's welfare is paramount, not the lifestyle choice of those wishing to adopt. I know that this is hard on those committed unmarried couples who wish to adopt but I firmly believe that the best foundation for society in general and for the raising of children is within marriage.