Legal Age Of Marriage Set To Be Raised By Two Years In England And Wales

Conservative MP Pauline Latham has introduced the private members' bill, which is expected to win approval by a majority agreement in parliament.

If the act becomes law, anyone who becomes complicit in underage marriage (currently under the age of 16, it will be raised to 18) could spend up to seven years in prison.

The bill will also see the minimum age of civil partnerships raised from 16 to 18. Teens aged 16 and 17 can currently enter a marriage or civil partnership with the consent of their parents or legal guardians.

The draft is currently only on its second reading at the House Of Commons, where it started. In order to be made law, it'll have to go through the same process in the House Of Lords before reaching final stages.

After the second reading today, the budding new law will have to be amended and debated in three more stages before being passed on to the House Of Lords.

If made law, the bill will see tougher restrictions clamped down onto arranged child marriages.

Multiple campaigners for child marriage charities have spoken out in favour of the proposal. It's thought that parents are using loopholes in the current law to coerce their children into early marriage.

It's Latham's aim that the bill will broadcast the message out to other countries that child marriage won't be tolerated.