20 May 2025

Joel Budd introduced readers of ‘The Tablet’ to his book, ‘The Truth About Britain’s White Working Class’. He discovered that the highest rates of childbirth outside marriage in England and Wales are to be found in and around Teeside in north-east England.

Surprisingly, he also discovered that despite the statistics, people have not stopped believing in marriage as an ideal. ‘They are not at all blasé about the difficulties and the disadvantages of raising children outside strong, committed partnerships.’ he writes.

The trouble is that white working class women have fewer options to secure a marriageable husband. They often describe their partners as unhelpful. But they don’t want to forego family life so they have a child but do not get married to the father whom they consider unmarriageable.

The trouble with this limited set of circumstances is that marriages are much more lasting than partnerships. 8% of babies born to a married couple are being raised by a single parent by the age of five. However, 21%  of babies born to cohabiting couples are being raised by a single parent by the age of five.

Although it is better in some sense for some couples to separate, the damage done to children is incalculable. It is the children who suffer from the breakdown of their parents’ relationship. The birth of a baby is an awesome responsibility and requires the security of a committed relationship.

The almost universal acceptance of couples living together and having children together without committing themselves to each other in marriage means that there is no political incentive to  reverse this trend despite the evidence to support it. The Kirk has a responsibility to encourage marriage and to nurture couples into it.