British PM criticized for blocking bill banning first-cousin marriage amid mounting health concerns

A former British Conservative minister and current MP renewed his push in Parliament last week for legislation that bans first-cousin marriage, prompting opposition from the ruling Labour party, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a British-Muslim MP.

The Conservative MP Richard Holden said during a parliamentary debate, "A marriage between first cousins carries significant health issues, many of which aren't even knowable until post-birth." He added, "When practiced generation after generation, there is a significant multiplier effect."

Adverse health effects on the children of first cousin marriages have been established in medical research. Holden added that "the real impacts on the openness of our society and women’s rights in our country are significant. After all, there are significant dynamics in sharing the same set of grandparents."

Holden urged Starmer to "think again" about blocking his legislation from moving forward. Starmer responded to Holden, stating "We've taken our position on that Bill, thank you." 

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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference after hosting a summit of European leaders in central London on March 2, 2025. (Julian Simmonds/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The Daily Mail reported that nearly 46% of females from the Pakistani community in Bradford, England had a "common ancestor," according to a 2024 study. A government study showed that the number was at 62% 10 years earlier.

While the prime minister's office did not say why they are against the bill's codification into law, a spokesman for Starmer told Fox News Digital, "Expert advice risks on first-cousin marriages are clear. In terms of legislation and what the government set up in the King’s Speech after the election, so of course we do not want people to enter in cousin marriages."

He continued, "We are focused on making sure every part of the govt is focused on delivering on issues that matter to the British public. We set out our legislative priorities in the King’s Speech."

Given the large influx of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa to Scandinavian countries, the BBC reported that Norway has banned cousin marriage while a ban is expected to come into effect in Sweden next year.

The Houses of Parliament are seen in London on June 12, 2024. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

The failure to codify a ban on interfamily marriage among first cousins has outraged many prominent conservative voices in the United Kingdom.

Ben Habib, chairman of the Great British Political Action Committee, told Fox News Digital, "Liberalism in the U.K. is out of control. In the pursuit of allowing people to do whatever they like, sanity is being set aside. It matters not whether that which you wish to do is deeply damaging. If you’re a minority, you have a protective blanket put around you and encouraged to continue."

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Women walk by a store in Bradford, England. A recent UK study said the number of Pakistani women in Bradford involved in cousin marriage had dropped to 46%. Ten years earlier, that number was at 62%, according to a government-funded study. (Daniel Harvey Gonzalez/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Habib added that "marrying cousins was a practice which exited Western culture over a hundred years ago. It’s now back with a vengeance. Why? Because we’ve had mass immigration from cultures which haven’t kept pace with ours. Instead of requiring them to adopt our approach, the British government allows them to continue this debilitating practice. Liberalism is reversing cultural advancement. And our government is in on the act. This insanity must stop."

During one of the parliamentary debates on the bill, Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed, who rejects a legislative prohibition on first-cousin marriage, admitted "there are documented health risks with first-cousin marriage." He said this is an issue that "needs greater awareness." He, however, said the way to address this "is not to empower the state to ban adults from marrying each other." He does not think a ban would be "effective or enforceable." 

According to medical experts, the children of first-cousin marriages are highly vulnerable to contracting an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, 

Mohamed said, "The matter needs to be approached as a health awareness issue and a cultural issue where women are being forced against their will to undergo marriage."

According to Mohamed, an estimated 35% to 50% of all sub-Saharan populations prefer or accept first-cousin marriage, and it is common in the Middle East and South Asia. In July 2024, British voters pulled the plug on the Conservative Party’s 14-year reign and voted in Starmer’s leftist Labour Party.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.