Letters | 30 January 2010

For richer, for poorer

Sir: Ferdinand Mount’s article (‘David Cameron should honour his marriage vow’, 23 January) is not entirely accurate. After noting that Geoffrey Howe was unable to persuade Margaret Thatcher to agree to the introduction of transferable tax allowances between married couples, he writes: ‘Nigel Lawson after him argued the same, with no better luck.’ In fact, I announced the introduction of transferable allowances in my 1988 Budget, and it was duly implemented in 1990. The full story may be found on pages 881 to 887 of my memoirs, The View from No. 11.

Nigel Lawson
London SW1



Sir: Well done to Ferdinand Mount and The Spectator for standing up for marriage. Mount does not mention, however, the most interesting statistic I have seen in favour of legally and fiscally protecting marital unions: that, according to a recent study by Opinion Research Business, 90 per cent of young people want to get married.