Up to 75% of British births to be outside marriage (The end of Britain: It has come to this)
THREE-QUARTERS of children in some parts of Britain will be born to unmarried mothers within the next parliament, official figures indicate.
The number of births to single mothers and unmarried cohabiting couples is set to exceed 50% across the country in the next five years.
However, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest that births outside of wedlock in some areas are already the norm and continue to rise.
Knowsley, Merseyside, one of Britain’s most deprived areas, has the highest proportion of children born to unmarried mothers, with the figure on course to hit 75% by 2014.
Critics believe the trend is further evidence of a deterioration in family values under Labour. It will present David Cameron with a pressing social problem if the Tories — who have pledged tax breaks to less well-off married couples — win power at the general election.
“It’s tremendously worrying,” said Ann Widdecombe, a former Home Office minister. “I think marriage has become devalued, as people don’t respect their wedding vows and therefore others don’t see the point of it.
“Children do much better at growing up against the background of two parents who are married and stably so.”
When new Labour came to power in 1997 the proportion of births outside wedlock was 36.7%. That had risen sharply to 45% by 2008, the latest year for which data are available — an annual rise of almost one point.
Some 30% of children were born to unmarried cohabiting couples, while up to 15% were born to single mothers.
The region with the highest proportion of births outside of marriage is the northeast (57%), closely followed by Wales (56%) and the northwest (52%).
By contrast, London has the lowest proportion of children born to unmarried mothers — 36% in 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at women.timesonline.co.uk
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