I am no great fan of groups like Stonewall, who want homosexuals to be valued more than heterosexuals, but I am in favour of the new Civil Partnerships. Why? It allows two people who love each other to gain the sort of benefits that seem like common sense – for example the right for one partner to inherit the other’s estate tax free, the right to make maximum use of each other’s tax allowances etc., but above all to have the emotional benefit of making such a lasting commitment to each other. By definition it is not marriage (the union of one man and one woman), nor should it be given the same social status, but if two people love each other I don’t see why the state shouldn’t recognise that.