Report

Birth rate challenge: ideas from the Left

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation aims to reclaim the conversation around birth rates for the progressive left, offering compassionate and actionable solutions.

Historically, conversations around birth rates have been dominated by the political right, often with uncomfortable associations with nationalism, antifeminism and xenophobia. But this collection, produced in collaboration with Boom Campaign, argues that there is nothing inherently conservative about wanting to make it easier for people to have children. On the contrary, as these essays show, tackling the barriers to family life—from economic insecurity to inadequate parental leave—aligns with progressive values of equity, inclusion and social justice.

The contributors to this volume represent a diverse range of perspectives from the UK’s political and policy communities. The House Magazine’s Sienna Rodgers makes the case for why Labour cannot afford to ignore the birth rate challenge, while Demographic Rapporteur to the Government of Finland Anna Rotkirch offers insights from Finland’s cross-party approach to supporting families. Tanya Singh and Shreya Nanda explore the economic roots of declining fertility, from austerity-driven cuts to housing insecurity, while Praful Nargund highlights the moral and economic imperative to invest in accessible fertility care. Further chapters tackle specific, practical solutions: Alex Lloyd Hunter calls for a long-overdue overhaul of paternity leave to support gender equality, while David Lawrence addresses the sky-high cost of childcare and the need for greater state investment.

Together, these voices form a powerful argument for a social contract that truly supports families, grounded in the understanding that choosing to have children should not be a luxury, but a viable, supported path for all. Ultimately, this collection aims to reclaim the conversation around birth rates for the progressive left, offering compassionate and actionable solutions.

While the Social Market Foundation remains a cross-party entity, we have deliberately chosen to highlight voices from the centre and left for this collection – to underscore the point that this issue is too important to be politicised.