Sir Keir Starmer Faces Pressure from MPs and Right-Wing Figures to Abandon Two-Child Benefit Cap as Depopulation Crisis Intensifies Across Europe

As the debate heats up over the UK’s ‘two-child’ benefit cap, Sir Keir Starmer is feeling the squeeze.

He’s already suspended seven backbench MPs who argue that the cap unfairly impacts the poorest families.

Surprisingly, even some right-wing figures like Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman are opposing the cap, claiming it discourages larger families.

This shared concern highlights a significant issue: the cap might influence how many children families are willing to have, which could exacerbate a growing problem.

There’s a growing specter haunting Europe: depopulation.

As we struggle to maintain our workforce and economy, the root cause is surprisingly simple: we’re not having enough babies.

Despite the world’s population recently exceeding eight billion, many regions are facing declining birth rates.

Since World War II, conventional wisdom has often been that the world is overpopulated and that we’re running out of resources.

This argument suggests that there’s no space left and that we’ll soon face food and water shortages. However, this perspective is increasingly challenged.

Back in the 1970s, the global population was growing at over 2 percent annually.

Today, that rate has plummeted to below 1 percent, with some major countries experiencing actual population declines.

China, Russia, and Japan are all seeing their numbers shrink. Germany’s population would also be decreasing if not for mass immigration.

In the UK, natural population growth is almost zero, relying heavily on migration to offset a potential imbalance between births and deaths.

This trend is evident globally, even in countries where large families were once common, like Jamaica and Thailand.

The mathematics are clear: for populations to grow, women need to have an average of 2.1 children.

This is not happening across Europe, with Malta having the lowest reproduction rate in the region at just 1.08 children per woman.

In the UK, the decline in births is having tangible effects.

London has seen a 20 percent drop in births over the past decade, which may lead to the closure of a major maternity unit.

Nationally, the number of children in education is expected to drop by 500,000.

Italy is facing even graver challenges, with a predicted 1:1 ratio of pensioners to working-age individuals within 25 years, which could lead to the collapse of the welfare state.

Ageing populations consume significant resources in healthcare and pensions, contributing to rising government debt.

Japan, for instance, holds the highest debt-to-GDP ratio among developed countries and also has its lowest birth rate on record, with a significant decline in births each year.

Misconceptions About Overpopulation

Despite these issues, many people still cling to the idea of an overpopulation crisis.

There’s a misguided belief that having fewer children is a virtue.

For example, Prince Harry and Meghan have been praised by some as role models for having only two children.

Yet, choosing not to have children for environmental reasons can be seen as a selfish choice, especially as we still rely on a thriving workforce to maintain our standard of living.

The argument that more people contribute to global warming is also flawed.

A newborn today will have a minimal carbon footprint for the first 20 years of their life, and as the UK continues to reduce its emissions, this impact remains negligible.

Additionally, as populations urbanize and live in more efficient spaces, the environmental impact decreases.

The Future of Population Growth

Elon Musk, who has fathered 12 children, advocates for expanding populations and even colonizing other planets.

However, the reality is that Earth has plenty of room to accommodate our needs without venturing into space.

While I would never support coercing people into having children, it is equally wrong to discourage family growth on the false premise that it benefits the planet.

China’s one-child policy, which has had lasting negative effects, is a stark example of this.

In most developed countries, including the UK, women generally wish to have two or three children. The economic constraints that prevent many from doing so are tragic.

Parenthood can be one of life’s greatest joys, and creating new lives is crucial for sustaining our future.

Paul Morland is a leading UK demographer and author of *No One Left: Why The World Needs More Children*, published by Forum.

This article was published on TDPel Media. Thanks for reading!

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