Seven Tenths of a Child

This is not a forecast. Most of it has already happened. Britain's fertility rate fell below replacement in 1973 and has never been back — fifty-three years, and not one prime minister has mentioned it.In 2025 there were 585,396 births in England and Wales, the fewest since 1977. Around ninety London schools have already closed or merged for want of children. Adult social care lost 85,000 posts fi...