Michael recently joined over 40 other MPs calling on the Prime Minister to strengthen families to build a fairer society. A group of MPs jointly published a Manifesto to Strengthen Families. They are calling on the Prime Minister to adopt a series of eye catching policies to support families and reduce family breakdown. While this has grave effects across society, family breakdown hits the poorest the hardest.
The Manifesto to Strengthen Families contains 18 policy recommendations to address the epidemic of relationship breakdown in this country. In this major policy intervention, almost one in four backbench Conservative MPs have endorsed this Manifesto and are pressing the Prime Minister to make tackling family breakdown a major part of her plan to ensure Britain is a ‘country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few’
Britain has one of the highest rates of family breakdown in the world with almost half of all young people no longer living with both their parents by the time they sit their GCSEs. For children growing up in our poorest communities this figure shoots up to two thirds.
Commenting on the launch of the Manifesto, Michael said:
“These family policies have commanded a very strong show of support from MPs. As the Prime Minister returns to Downing Street after the Summer recess this Manifesto ensures that she will be well-equipped to make tackling family breakdown a top priority. If we want to address some of the biggest issues facing people up and down the country, such as soaring levels of childhood mental illness, stubbornly low rates of upwards social mobility, addictions, housing shortages and loneliness in older age, looking at how to strengthen family relationships is the place to start."