In Britain today, both the public and politicians agree that families matter. Four out of five
people say that ‘my family are more important to me than my friends’,1
and families currently
ride high on the policy agendas of both the Labour2
and the Conservative Parties.3
One
thing that unites everyone in Britain is the need for parents to take more responsibility for
their children: 64% of us strongly agree this matters.4
Yet ‘the family’, both in public opinion and as a policy area, is a source of persistent
contradictions and trade-offs. Privately, families must balance the competing interests
of parents, children and other dependants within the household such as elderly relatives.
The traditional single male breadwinner family is declining and the growth of single-parent
families and other new kinds of family present many new challenges for government policy
on welfare, work-life balance and in many other areas.
This report aims to be a starting point for a debate on policy, charting the changing nature
of the family, and what that means for parents, children and our wider society. Drawing on
the breadth of the latest new research undertaken by Ipsos MORI with Policy Exchange5
,
and other existing research, we explore the changing shape of families in Britain today, the
impact of such changes on society, public opinion on the role of families and the role for
government. We highlight the key opportunities for policymakers in light of the challenges
suggested by the current demographic, social and attitudinal terrain, and what the public
thinks of these options.