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Study details of an investigation into the issues raised in Parliamentary debates on the major divorce law reforms in England and Wales: a quantitative analysis

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All rights reserved.
Date:8 MAR 2026
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John Haskey FAcSS AKC, University of Oxford, Department of Social Policy and Intervention

 

This article, the first of three, describes a study into the issues debated in the Parliamentary debates in the Bills leading to the four major Divorce Reform Acts of 1857, 1937, 1969 and 2020 in England and Wales. This first article describes the background details of the study: the sources of information; how the issues were identified; and the coding of the information. 27 issues were identified and each debater’s speech was coded according to whether they had, or had not, raised each issue. A brief account of each of the four major Divorce Reform Acts is given and the issues which prevailed at the time of the legislation.

The full article has published in the March issue of Family Law.  Find out more or request a free 1-week trial of Family Law journal. Please quote: 100482

Read the full article here.

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