The UK population is in decline

How is this growing population going to be fed?
In 2021 the German company Bayer exported thousands of tons of the banned insecticide Neonicotinoids to 51 countries.
They are exported to these countries because they are banned in the eu and uk.
There is a big program going on in these countries pushed through by GreenPeace.
This insecticide is particularly dangerous to bees. Without them the human race is stuffed.
And, these banned insecticides are sent to some of the poorest countries.

No point in looking to immigration, apart from countries rent by war. Most of the countries legal immigrants come from already have declining populations and are soon going to wantntheir immigrants back!

Have you wondered why governments want to raise retirement ages? It is because there are not enough young workers to pay enough taxation to pay for pensions.

Perhaps one incentive would be to give higher pensions to people with the most children!

All the nations in this decline are watching Japan, which is the first country to ride this wave.

Allira

Grantanow

The UK replacement rate (births minus deaths) is declining and that is helpfully offset by increased immigration. Should the government take measures to increase the birthrate - a bounty for extra kids, family allowance for all kids, a cheap rail and bus ticket for large families (as in France) and meantime increase immigration for those of working age from the EU and elsewhere?

No!

The only way for this Earth to recover for future generations and for our wildlife to survive is for populations to decline, not increase.

I agree👏🏻👏🏻

Nigel Lawson was Chancellor when Family Credit (which also supported families in work) was introduced in 1986.

Instead we adopted Tony Blair's foolish idea that an overwhelming number of young people should go to university whether they were suited for that or not.

Everybody knows that we have a two-tier (if not three-tier) university system. Most of the newer universities offer more vocational courses and are still considered (by some) to be second-rate, while the older universities tend to offer more traditional courses. The number of places in higher education hasn't increased as much as people think. Blair turned the former polytechnics and colleges of higher education into universities, in an attempt to give them parity of status with the universities.

Incidentally, "vocational" doesn't necessarily mean less academic. Law and medicine are vocational, but require some of the highest A level grades.

Grantanow

The UK replacement rate (births minus deaths) is declining and that is helpfully offset by increased immigration. Should the government take measures to increase the birthrate - a bounty for extra kids, family allowance for all kids, a cheap rail and bus ticket for large families (as in France) and meantime increase immigration for those of working age from the EU and elsewhere?

There was a discussion on the radio last week. Many countries in the world face this problem. In South Korea the birthrate has fallen below one child per woman and Italy isn't far below.

Unfortunately incentives do not work. Many countries have offered all kinds of incentives for families to consider having more children, but they have no effect.

The only time country to have success overcoming the problem and increased the population was Roumania under their communist leader, Nicolai Ceausesco. He banned all contraception and abortion for any reason and made using contraception or abortion a criminal offence with severe punishment. Not a system you could introduce in a democratic country.

I don't suppose you happen to know how many females are signed up for the apprenticeships Freya?

CariadAgain

Witzend

AGAA4

I think people are having less children for economic reasons amongst others. Two of my ACs only have one child each. The days of large families are over. Young adults with skills coming into the country would help.

Even better, would be for firms to train our own young people.

Apprenticeships would certainly be a useful way to go - complete with part of them spent in College learning the proper way to do things (so they do know the proper way to do things - rather than only "picking it up on the job" - which may or may not mean they learn how to do it properly).

This is already being done. My Grandson and his friend did an apprenticeship scheme, 5 years ago now. Now a highly payed AM.
Apprenticeship has always been on the agenda in this part of the world, from bricklaying,plumbing, electrical, catering, now EC centre, renewable energy, wind turbines apprenticeships. All in the centre of our small town, which has had a technical college sine 1944. So if here why not elsewhere??

I never understood the rationale of not training our own people, surely investing in our young should be paramount instead of letting them languish without a purpose. Germany's education system I believe has a more two pronged approach, one for those who want to take an academic route and another for those whose abilities are more geared towards the much needed practical vocations.. Instead we adopted Tony Blair's foolish idea that an overwhelming number of young people should go to university whether they were suited for that or not. It's still quite apparent that we don't have enough plumbers for example, hence the wave of Polish plumbers that free movement produced. My main grouse about that was how for a good few years wages were suppressed which of course suited The Federation of British Industry and unscrupulous employers. It's quite obvious wages have fallen behind and many can't afford even the basics. Gordon Brown's initiative of in- work employment top ups also gave businesses a loophole to hold wages down. I'm not against immigration per se, I know it is required, but it does need to be targeted. We can't go back now though we have added to the population considerably since the Millennium, hence the dire shortage of housing and infrastructure here in the south east. That's not to say many of the new settlers undeniably brought much valued skills and expertise. Their children will be the 2nd generationers of tomorrow. Presumably their parents will want them to adopt their work ethic, they may find Britain too laissez faire in what it demands of its younger generation. Poland it seems is on an upward trajectory, long gone the downtrodden USSR Satellite, more an emerging powerhouse. I do wonder if some will see going back to the old country a better bet in the future. .

There are far too many people in the world using up finite resources. The LAST thing the world needs is more people. Fewer people would mean a better quality of life for everyone. This country, in particular, has far too many people in it. I can remember a time when there was room to move in towns and cities and when driving was a pleasure. More people - NO NO NO!

Witzend

AGAA4

I think people are having less children for economic reasons amongst others. Two of my ACs only have one child each. The days of large families are over. Young adults with skills coming into the country would help.

Even better, would be for firms to train our own young people.

Apprenticeships would certainly be a useful way to go - complete with part of them spent in College learning the proper way to do things (so they do know the proper way to do things - rather than only "picking it up on the job" - which may or may not mean they learn how to do it properly).

AGAA4

I think people are having less children for economic reasons amongst others. Two of my ACs only have one child each. The days of large families are over. Young adults with skills coming into the country would help.

Even better, would be for firms to train our own young people.

MadeInYorkshire

Perhaps those of you who think that those people who are off work due to health conditions which may be depression and anxiety don’t realise that getting help from our healthcare system is nigh on IMPOSSIBLE!

Yes, MadeInYorkshire it has been well documented but it isn't helped by those who are jumping on the depression/mental health bandwagon. For a start it is disrespectful to those who genuinely have any of the distressing mental health conditions and, as you point out, completely clogs up the system. Too many these days are using this as a reason not to work. You can see if someone has a physical disability but it is all too easy to get away with a largely unseen condition. Depression and anxiety are abused by too many these days as a useful excuse for being lazy.

Wen need to stop measuring success in terms of growth. We need to measure it in terms of quality of life and happiness.

Until that is addressed MadeInYorkshire there will be more people unable to work.

In theory there is all kinds of support to get back to work
www.gov.uk/moving-from-benefits-to-work#:~:text=Speak%20to%20your%20local%20Jobcentre,help%20you%20back%20into%20work.

In practice job centres don't have the time to really do this. Swamped.

Yes there are "refusals to work". problem with cutting benefits if if there is a whole family involved, and who and how makes the decision about the cutting.

It is in decline in Australia,too. We are doing our bit,though - just heard another gt grandchild is on the way! Thrilled to bits.

Surely there are far too many people in the world. We will run out of resources and then what?

My 93-year old uncle is worried that 4 out of his 9 great grandchildren don’t want children, but his eldest great granddaughter has three!

We need to look into having much smaller families. I know there is always the worry of not enough young people to look after us oldies, but over time and before the situation becomes very difficult, I am sure there will be new solutions in place.

If Brexit hadn’t happened I don’t think we’d be worried about who is and who isn’t coming to this country,

I am on a boat on the Rhone at the moment. It is wonderful that there are so many nationalities working together. It used to be like that in UK once.

Perhaps those of you who think that those people who are off work due to health conditions which may be depression and anxiety don’t realise that getting help from our healthcare system is nigh on IMPOSSIBLE!

Wyllow3

People in countries where the birth rare exceeds the death rate do so for economic and social reasons, not within our influence: in fact less so than before, as the kind of aid package to help with for example birth control shrinks.

I doubt that the women in these countries have so many children through choice when they may not be able to feed them because of famine, conflict or poverty. More aid is needed in the form of birth control and education.
It amazes me that Africa is such a fertile continent in parts yet the logistics of transporting food from one country to another seem to be impossible.

Wyllow3

It's a key one, both in terms of "looking after" and people in work paying taxes. It's probably cheaper in the short medium term to bring people in.
Just as well that some families whose parents were originally immigrants are contributing to the birth population, it still doesnt bring numbers up to "replacement" level.

Sarnia agree about people able to work and not, but how to change it?

Wyllow3 Perhaps those fit enough for work could be given 3 months to find a job as their benefits would be stopped after that time. So many these days say they have depression and similar issues but I think a good antidote to those who are using that as an excuse is getting yourself up out of bed in the morning and going to do a day's work. I can understand Labour's need to make savings and getting the benefit system sorted out seems as good a place as any.

People in countries where the birth rare exceeds the death rate do so for economic and social reasons, not within our influence: in fact less so than before, as the kind of aid package to help with for example birth control shrinks.

There are already too many humans in this world of ours.

The birth rate needs to decrease globally. It’s simply not sustainable.

No.

World population is too large - birthrate needs to decrease.