Arranged Marriages

An attempt to close a loophole in the immigration system raises questions about the sustainability of arranged marriages in Western culture.

In 1979 a government white paper proposed the withdrawal of the right to enter the UK in order to get married. At a school in West Bromwich John McLeod discovers that pupils of Asian descent are not happy with the tradition of arranged marriages, while John Mitchell talks to a couple who were threatened by family members when they married across religions. Pravin Lukka of the Confederation of Indian Organisations describes the white paper as a 'white lie'!

The White Paper for the Revision of the Immigration Rules was published on 14 November 1979. The Home Secretary William Whitelaw led the discussion in its favour and the revisions were passed in December 1979.