tblzebra says..“ Does it include civil partnerships, or is it just for het's? Let me guess...”

tblzebra says..“ HELP! I answered the question for the poll as YES, then realised the explanation after the dash means I replied the opposite way than intended. It needs changing. (Maybe that's why the results are so close too?)”

JJ says..“ Question and answer on the vote rather confusing.”

Lordy Lord says..“ Something has to convince all these heathens to stop living in sin. Hell fire and damnation clearly hasn't been working.”

AD says..“ Only helping 40%; of married couples sounds bad but its quite likely that the time in most mariges when one partner is not working is when they have young children. Which often streches family finances the most, so maybe the right 40%; will be getting the benefit.”

Anonymous says..“ This is really a little boondoogle for the wealthy as Cable says and had been from time the Ian Duncan Smith report suggested it. Most couples need two incomes and maybe every little helps but the maximum amount for basic rate tax payers it very small. ”

smitty says..“ tblzebra - when they first mooted it they said it was for married couples and civil partnerships too. I don't think it's too bad an idea - if it's generally the case that married couples provide a more stable upbringing for kids, why not recognise that in the tax system? And it does appear to be the case that married couples with kids are much more likely to stay together than unmarried couples, which is generally a good thing (I'm talking in general terms, by the way, of course there are awful relationships where the couple staying together is very bad for the kids).

Plus, I am married (well in a civil partnership), and actually think that the institution is good for society. Actually making a legal binding commitment to someone else may not fit in with the "me, me, me" culture we live in, and it does make it much more difficult to walk away from your problems, but I do think it is generally for the common good. We give all kinds of incentives to people in this country who don't do anything, who haven't earned it and who really don't deserve it - I think the tories have actually struck a bit of a chord with the big swathe of people in this country who pay for the rest.

I am not a Tory, social liberal that I am I won't be voting for them thank you very much, but I can kind of see where these proposals are coming from...”

scoteee says..“ It's all spin before the elections and will never happen.The conservative goal of getting us all talking about them seems to have paid off.”

jj says..“ In the Metro this morning Cameron says that statistics show 1 in 11 married couples with children break up before the child is 5, but for unmarried couples the figure is closer to half. Maybe married people try harder to stick with it for the sake of the kids, or maybe unmarried ones need lessons in contraception...”

Nonservative says..“ They may aswell go the whole hog and give tax breaks for regular church attendees! Marriage has lost its way nowadays and very few people do it for the right reasons, and therefore incentivising marriage is just a step in the wrong direction completely. Who knows, maybe the torries have vested interest in the law firms set to make a killing on the ever growing list of divorce cases? Seems highly likely when you see how much they get in kind from the big consultancy firms at present on the proviso that when they get in power they're in the running for the big contracts (estimated £4bn to be spent on consultancy). Who knows what they are up to, maybe a glance back at the last torie government might gives us some clues. ”

J says..“ Rather than chuck taxpayers money at folk for breeding kid after kid and with multiple partners it is about time this country made each and everyone financially responsible for their own....as it is, we pick up the bill so personal responsibility is never considered. Nothing wrong with a policy that encourages people to stick through it, through the good and bad just as the vows say! People give up at the first hurdle these days...sad.”

Kieran says..“ Surely this is a double kick in the nuts for single parents? Your partner leaves you, you then have to work to support your family, only to find out that if they had stayed with you you'd have got their tax allowance too? To me the Lib Dem policy on upping the threshold at which you start paying tax seems a more sensible option. It does seem crazy that somebody earning £10k a year - which is barely enough to live off - should be paying tax and NI, only to then get their earnings topped up the 'working tax credits'. ”

RJ says..“ If this is about supporting families and young children in particular then a reform of the maternity / paternity allowances would make more sense. I would benefit from this change because my husband is a stay at home dad and therefore is not working nor does he get any form of paternity benefits (whereas if it was the other way round, even if I didn't get maternity pay from work I would get basic support from the government). The ability to share maternity / paternity leave between couples (as is the case in Sweden, for e.g.) would help to 'support' our family, and many others, in a more logical and modern way than tax breaks simply for being married.”

Suz says..“ I would like to know exactly how many people Nonservative knows who married for the 'wrong reasons'. I for one welcome the breaks. I am married no kids and not planning them till we can support them properly. Don't condemn people who choose to make a commitment to one another. Personally I don't understand how you can commit to have a child with someone but not be commited enough to marry them.”

amarriedtaxpayer says..“ Why should two people living together who are not married get more than two peple who are? Ony fair way is to make it equal regardless but I think more should be done to prevent people claiming bennefits as not to be co-habbiting when they actually are. These are the real scum!”

Peeks says..“ So the question at the top of the page in big print says "Should married couples have tax breaks?", but the yes/no poll above relates to a different (pretty much opposite) question - that's helpful.”