Badenoch says that the UK needs more births. Last year there were 591.072 at a fertility rate of 1.44 (well below the rate of 2.1 needed for a stable population. The alternative is migration which we all know many Brits hate due to their racism. I hate binary answers! Is there an alternative? The simplistic one would be to kill old people! but being serious greater efficiency could provide a local answer. The other quandary is what to do with the growing number of potential migrants – war and environmental disasters are not diminishing, and as countries become more insular this will increase.
I have argued that the population of the UK is too high for environmental sustainability – however the imbalance in world finance means that more will need to be done to ensure that all species can live in harmony wherever they are. Wow that is soo hippy and 1970’s – I am so proud! Human movement and migration seem to be a human instinct so there will always be movement and a move towards but never achieving equilibrium. What is an optimum population will fluctuate with innovation and environmental impacts, as humans we are fortunately better equiped to deal with these fluctuations better than lemmings 9but it is not a sacriscant right!.
We are told that many jobs will disappear and also that 30% of the jobs an 11 year old will be doing, does not exist today! So Badenoch is being naive with her comments about a pressing problem. Like most/all our politicians there is no long term thinking. Is anyone able to project about what jobs will be needed for the 591072 babies lucky enough to (and I really mean it) have been born in the UK last year. Most manufacturing seems likely to be automated, Transport systems are following a similar pattern . Education may follow although the human seems to need socialisation processes to accompany learning ones. Heath and Social Care would seem to be a stumbling block to an economists guide to the future.
There is of course an alternative where we revert to my hippy nirvana!