Tories raise fears about EU ‘birth dearth’
Couples need to have more children in order to help overcome the EU’s “demographic crisis”. That’s the message from shadow work and pensions secretary David Willetts, who today claimed that increasing the birth rate was the best way to deal with the problems presented by an ageing population.
He has claimed that Britain, along with the rest of the EU, will fail to compete with the US, if the birth rate continues to fall.
Since 2001 there have been more over-60s in the UK than children.
And while the situation can be addressed by people working longer, by increased migration, and by deregulating Europe’s labour market, the simplest suggestion solution would be to help families to grow.
Mr. Willetts said: “Europe faces a birth-dearth. Nobody wants to force women to have more children than they wish. But we have created an environment in which people are having fewer children than they aspire to.”
He noted that longer life expectancy was a good thing, but that it became difficult to support an ageing population with a decreasing workforce.
“After the baby boom of the 1950s we have had the baby bust. Europe’s real demographic crisis is not longevity but birth rates,” he said.
The Conservatives are not known for allying themselves with the women’s movement, but Mr. Willetts also claimed that “feminism is the new natalism” because women wanted to be able to take advantage of a better education and better employment opportunities, without having to compromise on the number of children they had.
Kate Stanley of the IPPR backed this view up. Although she claimed that female education had been a key factor in reducing the global birth rate, she added: “But it’s interesting to note that in countries in Europe where they do have a slightly higher birth rate, such as Denmark and Sweden, that’s where you find universal, high-quality, accessible childcare and much better gender equality.”
There is currently an acute shortage of affordable childcare places in the UK. There is now one childcare place for every seven children under the age of eight, a slight improvement on the situation six years ago, although a recent survey by the Daycare Trust revealed that the number of childminders in Britain – often the most affordable form of care – has gone down by nearly a quarter over the same period.
David Willetts also suggested that better tax breaks and benefits and better access to housing would also encourage couples who wanted larger families to have more children.
Critics have suggested that on a global level, the proposals are irresponsible because there are many countries suffering from overpopulation.
However, the IPPR has pointed out that estimate suggest there is an 85% chance that the overall global population will stop growing by the end of the century, and a 15% chance that it will actually start declining.
