>Members of the ruling Labour Party in the United Kingdom have blocked attempts to outlaw marriage between first cousins, commonly seen among the country’s Muslim community. Member of Parliament (MP) Richard Holden, of the Conservative Party, stated that Labour blocked any further consideration of the bill to outlaw cousin marriage on Friday, January 17. >In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Holden said Labour blocked the legislation before it could even reach the committee stage and said the governing party is likely to block such legislation going forward. Holden thanked members of communities where cousin marriage is prevalent who supported him, saying “certain elements” of the establishment allow the practice to continue due to either fear of causing offense or fear of losing votes. >Cousin marriage is incredibly prevalent in the Pakistani community in Britain, with the BBC admitting that as many as 46 percent of newborns to Pakistani parents in the city of Bradford come from first cousin marriages. . . Source