Britain’s levels of births outside marriage are at the highest point for at least 200 years, according to a major new study of the history of the family from the independent think-tank, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). Cohabitation levels have also soared from under 5% pre-1945 to 90% today.
The inquiry finds that births outside marriage were at low levels throughout the 19th Century and stayed flat until the 1960s. But since then they have soared, from a long-standing baseline of 5% to 45% today.
Research shows that children brought up by lone parents on average do much less well than those brought up by two parents. For instance, they are 75% more likely to fail at school and 50% more likely to have alcohol problems. Separate studies have also shown that cohabiting couples with children are far less stable than married couples with children.
Gavin Poole, Executive Director of the CSJ, says: “Current high levels of cohabitation are a key factor in the rise in family breakdown in our country and this paper shows that we have not been here before. The CSJ has consistently argued, from the evidence, that marriage and commitment tend to stabilise and strengthen families and cannot be ignored.”