Why is promoting real marriage and family so far from the lips of our policymakers and media class?
Amid the many problems we face as a country, population decline is a pressing issue. It affects economic growth, social care and national vitality.
During last week’s BBC Question Time, Alastair Campbell said, “We have to get people from abroad coming to work here”, in order to address the decline in childbirth. Nobody disagreed.
But strong families are the foundation of a thriving society. Falling birth rates in Western nations reflect a broader crisis—a shift away from prioritising family life and marriage. The structures that once supported stable environments for raising children are being eroded.
For decades, lifestyles and policies have undermined the family unit. Marriage rates are at historic lows. Cohabitation is on the rise. Financial pressures on young families are increasing. Yet the profound societal benefits of strong, traditional, man-woman marriage and family are ignored.
There are several steps our Government could take. It could: reform the tax system to support single-earner families and incentivise marriage; promote the cultural and spiritual value of lifelong commitment between one man and one woman; end the normalisation of cohabitation as a substitute for marriage; end the liberal divorce culture; and prioritise affordable housing to relieve the financial strain on young couples.
At C4M, we champion the things proven to provide a long-term solution to population decline: marriage and family. These have been the cornerstones of thriving societies throughout history. Let’s work together to make the family great again.