Gordon Brown has joined the political debate on marriage, telling politicians to stop “making ideological judgments” on family life and offer practical help instead.

In his first foray into family policy since David Cameron promised tax breaks for married couples, the Chancellor said that governments should help all families whatever their circumstances, and not select some for special treatment.

His comments signal that he has no intention of reintroducing the married couple’s tax allowance or any other tax breaks for two-parent families.

His message came in an address to fathers and mothers assembled by the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss the Budget in two weeks’ time.

The family and marriage are about to become a main political battleground between Labour and the Tories after Mr Cameron made clear that he would offer tax breaks to married couples. The move is risky, with Conservatives still haunted by John Major’s “back to basics” campaign promoting traditional family values, which backfired and contributed to their 1997 defeat.

Labour is more divided on how far to go to support marriage. Some Cabinet ministers, including John Hutton, the Work and Pensions Secretary, have said that the Government needs to do more to support two-parent families, while others, including Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, have said that single mothers should not be stigmatised.

Mr Brown has stayed out of the debate until now. In his address, he said that he would always be “pro-family and pro-marriage” but did not think it was for politicians to pass judgment on how different parents organised their home life. “All families face their own challenges, which they tackle in their own way, but government has a duty to support them all. And by that I mean practical, sustained help, whenever and wherever families need it, in whatever circumstances they find themselves, not by making ideological judgments but seeking always to find the best way to support every child.”

He said that he was sympathetic to parents who worried about the erosion of childhood. The commercialisation of childhood, along with advances in technology, meant that global industries with huge advertising budgets were now powerful influences on children.

“So parents who want to teach their children right from wrong and standards of be-haviour and how to exercise discipline and self-control, as I do, often find themselves competing with popular culture which often seems to be sending out competing messages and which then reinforces all the peer pressure on their own children,” Mr Brown said. “How we counteract this is a central concern for me as a parent and for all parents I know — and this is an issue we must address with practical proposals.”

He said that Ofcom, the communications regulator, had agreed to draw up a new ratings system for website and video games. Ofcom would also start an information campaign to let parents know which control software was available to monitor or block sites.

Mr Brown added that he was sympathetic to parents under pressure as they tried to combine work and family responsibilities, and promised that he would return to the subject over the coming months.

That suggests that he plans a more thorough attack on Mr Cameron and his views on marriage. The Tories have said that they are sympathetic to parents who juggle work and childcare, but do not want any more legislation to give them more rights to flexible work.

He has promised some sort of tax break to reward married couples. The party is looking at transferable tax breaks that reward parents where only one works, and restoring the tax allowance for married couples, which rewards couples with or without children. Mr Brown scrapped the allowance and replaced it with tax credits for low-paid families whether or not they were married.

Views on vows

David Cameron

“We should not ignore one compelling fact. Nearly one in two cohabiting parents split up before their child’s fifth birthday. The figure for married couples is one in twelve. That is why we support marriage and, yes, we should back it with the tax system”

“Seventy per cent of young offenders come from lone-parent families. Take school. Children who have suffered family breakdown are 75 per cent more likely to suffer educational failure”

“We support marriage and will back it through the tax system. Some people say it’s wrong to single out marriage in this way. I don’t care. The evidence is there”

Gordon Brown

“All families face their own challenges which they tackle in their own way but government has a duty to support them all”

“I think all parents want their children to grow up happy and loved, equipped to cope with the adult world, learning how to earn a decent living and look after themselves and, in time, their own families, ready to love and be loved”

“I mean practical, sustained help, whenever and wherever families need it, in whatever circumstances they find themselves, not by making judgments but seeking always to find the best way to support every child”

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