The fertility rate for women under the age of 30 in England has fallen to the lowest level since 1938, with almost a third of babies born to foreign mothers, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS report, released on Wednesday, found that fertility rates declined for all age groups in England and Wales, with the exception of women over the age of 40, who saw the birth rate rise to 16.5 per 1,000 women.
The total fertility rate (TFR) for England and Wales decreased from 1.7 children per woman in 2018 to 1.65 children per woman in 2019, which is lower than all recorded years except 2000, 2001 and 2002.
Fertility rates are determined by calculating the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her life. A fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is required to maintain the population of a country.
The report also found that more than a quarter of all live births (28.7 percent) were to women born outside the UK, the highest percentage since 1969. The country with the highest number of women giving birth in the United Kingdom was Poland with 16,737 births. , barely outnumbering Pakistani women, who registered 16,320 births last year. (Table 1)
Pakistan also accounted for the largest number of parents born outside the country, with 17,519 Pakistani men serving children in the United Kingdom last year. (Table 2A)
Overall, there was a 2.5 percent drop in live births in England and Wales in 2019 from the previous year, and a 12.2 percent decline from 2012, the most recent peak of births in the UK.
British family destruction: marriage rate falls to lowest in recorded history https://t.co/WLXVu02vjF
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 16, 2020
In response to the report, author, housewife and advocate of traditional family Alena Kate Pettitt told Breitbart London: “It is not surprising that fewer British women choose to have children. Not only is it increasingly difficult to pay for their education and childcare if necessary, but even owning or renting a suitable home for a family is becoming difficult for many. ”
“Real estate developers easily get permission to build smaller and smaller homes in smaller spaces, making home life seem like nothing more than a pit stop between work hours, while traditional home inventory is divided into floors to accommodate our growing population, “Pettitt lamented.
“But the biggest culprit is the modern media. With her agenda to glorify childless working women, without giving big and happy families airtime, and to celebrate only the accomplishments of a woman outside the home and home. It is no wonder that younger generations are seeking careers and materialism powered by social media to fulfill wishes when family life seems so financially unattractive and not worth their time. The family is not recognized in 2020, regardless of the economic depression, “he concluded.
The precipitous drop in births in recent decades came as immigration to the UK increased, seeing the population actually experience strong growth despite the decline in the number of new children born at home. This disconnect was noted by London-based lobbying group Migration Watch UK, whose spokesperson told Breitbart London that: “We are repeatedly told that we need migration to keep things going, while we have fewer and fewer children.” If we are so firm on population growth, let’s start at home. “
However, the figures were not received with caution by everyone. the Meter The freesheet newspaper reported the comments of Clare Murphy, spokeswoman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, an abortion clinic, which called the low number of births a “success story.”
She said: “The increase in the age of motherhood is a reflection of improved gender parity, especially greater female participation in both higher education and the workplace,” and predicted that financial stability due to Coronavirus would likely further reduce the number of births, as couples deferred having a family even further.
Priti Patel’s ‘financially inactive’ comments betray the UK government’s hostility towards the traditional family https://t.co/NsSuUcYD3Q
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 20, 2020
The ONS itself suggested that the decline in the UK fertility rate may be the result of better access to contraception, a reduced mortality rate for children under the age of 5, which would result in women having fewer children and difficulties conceiving them because more women are delaying having children until later in life.
Since the 1970s, British governments have placed an increasing emphasis on women entering the workforce. Women now represent the majority of new entrants to the British economy, which has had a significant impact on marriage, birth and fertility rates in the country.
The government also hampers families through its tax policy, which taxes individual earnings instead of families as a whole. This means that families who depend on a single middle-class income of £ 50,000 will take home less money than two wages of £ 25,000.
The government could, if it wanted, decide to give a boost to traditional families by making tax breaks transferable, but it has not. Those families are also denied access to marriage benefits, which are preserved for low-income people. Millions of women are forced into situations where, given the choice, they prefer to keep their family at home, but are forced to do so by an employer.
However, there are other ways to get closer to the family. Directly opposite the British model is Hungary, which has seen marriage rates increase by almost 100 percent over the previous year and a 9.4 percent increase in the birth rate.
Last year, Conservative Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán presented a series of policies in favor of the family, which included policies specifically aimed at supporting women. One of those policies eliminated taxes for women who have given birth to four or more children for life.
The Hungarian government also introduced loans for women under 40 who were married for the first time. The loan would be completely forgiven if the family had at least three children.
Poland agrees new state pension for mothers who dedicated lives to raising families https://t.co/NE25fcTUZH
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 1, 2019
Follow Kurt on Twitter at @KurtZindulka
