Should some people be more equal than others?

There is a saying, I believe, something along the lines of “all people are equal but some are more equal than others”.

I may have got this out of a Christmas cracker circa 1978 but, whatever the source, it’s a statement that has once again been brought into the headlines.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.

Once upon a time (earlier this month) there was a heterosexual couple who began a legal fight at the High Court against the ban on members of the opposite sex entering into civil partnerships.

Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfeld, from London, say their case is a "basic issue of discrimination and equality" and Miss Steinfeld said they want to commit to each other in a civil partnership as it "focuses on equality".

But under current laws, they can’t do this as the Civil Partnership Act 2004 requires that partners be "two people of the same sex".

It grants gay couples legal rights similar to those given to married couples.

The government has said it consulted on the issue and found a lack of consensus, so does not plan to make any changes to the law.

In 2014 they were told by Chelsea Register Office that they could not register a notice of intention to form a civil partnership because they were a man and a woman.

In the same year, the Same Sex Couples Marriage Act extended the right to marry to gay couples, who can now choose between civil partnership and marriage.

The couple contend that the same choice should be available to all couples.

So, dear reader, what does this latest episode of equality tell us?

Well, it tells me the government needs to re-think the 2014 act. It’s a complete nonsense that creating equality for one section of modern society has meant inequality for another.