Bring back common law marriage?

For an excelelent thoughtful piece about the modern practice of co-habitation where couples living together are sometimes more committed than those who are married this piece is well worth a look. It explains that in English law there is no such thing as a common law husband or wife and asks should there be? For my part, I think its a shame that many people these days seem to drift into some kind of committment to each other without stopping to think what that means (whether they are married or not!). And there are also many tradgic tales of people left penniless by death or ‘divorce’ by their long term ‘partners’. Especially where children are concerned something needs to change. Maybe part of the problem is that people have made marriage into something it shouldnt be- a simple decision ought to be enough really and all the razzmattazz of a modern wedding perhaps puts some people off. But how many people readlise that cohabiting couples dont have the same rights as marrieds? as the guardian puts it “Tie the knot and you have rights. Simply live together and you don’t. ” Is that just I ask myself?