Gay men and women are entering civil partnerships in much higher numbers than the Government estimated when new laws allowing them to formalise their relationships came into force last December.

More gay couples registered their partnerships in the first ten months of the new law than were expected to have done so by 2030.

Figures published yesterday show that men entered civil partnerships in much greater numbers than women in the first nine months under which they were able to register their relationship officially.

Thousands more couples over the age of 35 are taking part in civil union ceremonies than those in their twenties.

Alan Wardle, director of public affairs at Stonewall, which lobbies for equality and justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, said: “We are encouraged by the fact that the number of people entering a civil partnership is far higher than the Government was anticipating.”

More than 15,500 “gay weddings” have taken place in Britain since the law came in, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The first official figures on the extent of civil partnerships show that 15,672 were registered between December 2005 and September this year.

The overwhelming majority took place in England with 14,084. There were 537 in Wales, 942 in Scotland and 109 in Northern Ireland.

Almost 2,000 couples registered their partnerships in December last year. Among them were Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, whose ceremony was at Windsor Guildhall on the day civil unions came into effect in England and Wales.

Civil partnerships are more popular with men, with 19,144 taking the plunge, against 12,200 women. The gap between the sexes was greatest in England, where 62 per cent of civil partnerships were male against 38 per cent female. In Wales they were 51 per cent male and 49 per cent female.

Mr Wardle said one reason for the greater number of men than women entering a civil partnership in the first months of the new law was because women were more cautious.

London and the South East were the two regions with the biggest number of civil unions, with 3,918 and 2,623 respectively. The capital accounted for a quarter of all partnerships registered between December 2005 and September this year. The South West had the third-highest number of partnerships at 1,533. The lowest was in Northern Ireland at 109.

Yesterday’s figures also show that “gay weddings” are much more popular among the older generation than among young lesbians and homosexual men. Fewer than 6,000 of the 31,000 men and women entering a civil partnership were under 35.

More than 14,035 were aged between 35 and 49 and more than 11,300 were aged 50 and over. The figures suggest that many people in long-term committed relationships had been waiting for an opportunity to register their partnership.

Only 12 per cent of civil partners were under 35 in December 2005 but nine months later this figure had doubled to 25 per cent. In contrast, involvement of the over-50s halved from 50 per cent to 24 per cent.

Peter Tatchell, of the campaign group OutRage!, is calling on Gordon Brown to protect the rights of gays and lesbians in his Pre-Budget Report tomorrow. He said changes introduced when the Civil Partnership Act 2004 became law had resulted in the denial of social security benefits to thousands of elderly, sick, unemployed, disabled and low-income same-sex partners who have not taken out a civil partnership and have no intention of doing so.

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