On the subject of cousin copulation...

As ever on the pulse of the important issues of the day Conservative MP for Basildon Richard Holden has brought forward a Bill to outlaw First Cousin Marriage, telling tales of how it increases greatly the chances of genetic illnesses being passed down.  The risk of birth defects in offspring of first-cousin marriages is estimated to be 2-2.5 times higher than in the general population, largely because of autosomal recessive disorders (see here) but as that's from a very low base the risks are still very minimal (Victoria and Albert popped a lot of children out and most of them were ok - if you disregard the hemophilia and Habsburg jaw).  The risks do grow greater if the pattern is repeated over generations.  However, when cousin marriage was banned in the past the bans were very hard to enforce.  Are people going to be banned from being legally married or imprisoned for incest? 

Other famous cousin lovers include Christopher Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame and Albert Einstein... although perhaps they might have thought twice if they'd understood genetics... which was not really fully scientifically understood then...

However, this seems to me to be something of a moral panic... Mr Holden quotes this Times article (which must be important propaganda as it is not behind the firewall) which reveals the real impetus ...a fear of "clannishness" ... "This is why, to get to grips with clannishness, I’d suggest we must target marriage customs directly" ...in other words the real aim of such a law is not genetic safety but an attempt at social engineering.  Mr Holden believes that not inbreeding makes society more stable... One wonders then why such Tories seem almost inevitably to be fans of Royal Families...

This week, I’m introducing legislation to @HouseofCommons that would end first cousin marriage (ie, when you share a set of grandparents)

Eagle eyed @dp_williamson at @Daily_Express has spotted it in tbe order paper and written up the story >>> https://t.co/g8w2jfZJDM

In the…

— Richard Holden MP (@RicHolden) December 8, 2024