I noticed a few days ago that reform are wanting to make childless women pay more tax because were not contributing to society in the right way, basically if we get to menopause and have no children we wrong and unnatural and should be made to pay.
At no point does it mention infertility, let alone make infertility, there just seems to be a blanket assumption that women have no children through selfishness.
7 I still believe there are a lot of people who think this.
Yes, and women who didn't fit into society's 'norms' were once tried as witches.
If I were a person considering voting Reform I'd educate myself with regard to women's rights achievements over the last few centuries.
Here are some milestones:
https://www.lawson-west.co.uk/knowledge/100-years-of-women-in-the-law/
Don't put these precious achievements into jeopardy.
I've just done a search on these ideas from Reform - I don't think all of them are actually formal policy.
So, here goes, from what I could find:
1. Rescind no fault divorce.
2. Childless women (men??) to be taxed more.
3. Negative child benefit tax.
4. Fewer women in higher education.
5. Abolition of equality laws.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/26/britain-babies-reform-women-birthrate-policies
6. Young girls to be given a 'biological reality check'.
7. Marriage between men and women the only basis for a safe and successful society.
8. The present abortion laws are 'ludicrous'.
www.independent.co.uk/.../reform-farage-women-families-abortion-fertility-b2924596.html
There may be more I haven't unearthed.
Scary stuff, especially for someone like me who lived through the '70s and the 'Womens' Liberation Movement'.
I feel a duty to point these issues out to anyone considering voting for them.
I'm sure people are having fewer children for a variety of reasons, they can't aford anywhere to live away from their parents, they may not be able to live with their partner due to lack of space at their parents houses, The parents may not want their adult children having children of their own all under the same roof.
Some choose not to have children, some desperately want children but can't have them for a variety of reasons.
Reform also want to bring fault back into divorce to make it harder and trap people in unhappy or even dangerous marriages. They want to bring back married couples tax allowance too, I wonder if the father wishes to stay at home and look after the children if the tax allowance would go to the working mother?
I wonder how they intend to make men pay their fair share? I've known so many women who've split up from their male partners because they don't really contribute, they're actually a drain on the family resourses. I've known so many women who work full time, have school age children they care for and do all the home care, whilst the man often earns more but contributes little, especially with daily life, like cooking, cleaning and child care duties, keeping up with school. The men who are oblivious to thier childrens need for new shoes and school uniforms, but are quite happy to buy the latest big screen tv or games console. These are not men, they're big children!
Why should women look harder for male partners, why shouldn't men take a look at themselves and think about how they can make themselves a more attractive long term partner?
TheCatWoman You created this contentious thread, but watching quietly!!
I'm not really that interested in politics.
Obviously I'm not emotionally invested in the same way, and don't have the same drivers to have children. But I understand the time pressures are real.
I feel sense on injustice, more generally because there are people who do not consider others take advantage and move in. This is what I am observing everywhere. Its an abuse of rights, people trying to take advantage of laws for their own benefit. I don't see societal systems and laws as there to be excercised by individuals in a rightous position to use for monetary gains, laws are there to protect us all. Imagine how efficient things would be if noone was able take advantage like this.
It’s kind of self limiting to most people to have children because of the cost or burden or reality. People who have 10-12 children are typically supported by the system. I don’t think having more children drastically increases chances of your genes survival. It’s also what quality of life you might be bringing them into.
This sounds like a very neurotypical special interest ;;.
One of my sisters adopted (technically not childless) which is amazing. There is this thing looking at kids when they have Birthdays and Xmas that you are making their future memories, anything you do or say is a huge responsibility as a parent as they might all you up on it one day. Kids doing what they see from the world through the internet scares me a lot. So much is distorted now.
I also read that more women are having a career and leaving having kids till later. Obviously Reform want to punish women for wanting to have lives.
I cannot put into words my revulsion for people who believe they have a right to dictate how others live their lives.
EDIT: This wasn't an attack on you, incase it came out as that, I get caught up in feeling injustice for things like this and tend to go into rant mode.
I think that sharing is normal way to rent now. Ownership is mostly down to job security and borrowing. None of it is really sustainable if the system stays the same because of the sheer numbers of people wanting to live in cities everything gets more expensive.
Yes, show off, social media, social status, ho others perceive them etc. I have one daughter and I don't want more. I concentrate on providing her with everything she needs not only material needs, but also emotional. If someone does not want to have children -in my opinion it's better if they don't have them. There is also rising tendecy to rise children with excessive multimedia use. Just to have some peace, parents let the kid play hours on the mobile. It's harming children, rising people with various illnesses since the young age, but somehow nobody cares. My daughter is excited when I buy her clay and colored pencils and not a mobile, because I also spend some time playing with her. Kids do what they see from parents.
Really people who cannot take care of pets should not be allowed to have children.
They shouldn’t be allowed to have pets.
Just thinking that with increasingly young people can't afford to buy their own houses and might be staying with parents till into their 30's? Kids are expensive, so if you have to have them before you can get a place to live?
Really people who cannot take care of pets should not be allowed to have children.
Can you imagine the outcry if we tried to introduce a license to procreate LOL. Unfortunately it is often the least intelligent or uneducated who find themselves with unplanned pregnancies and then become parents.
I am on pot plants at the moment recently graduated from rocks.
I'm much the same but with construction tools - it seems each new power tool I buy has an increasing chance of removing parts of my body if not carefully handled - maybe it is some sort of natural selection process...
Terrifying. It's women should stay at home, have babies, cook and clean for their husbands, and not have jobs. Scary. Probably put a tax if you get vaccinated to discourage that too.
i've realised how people sometimes accessorise their children, or show them off to cause some other people pain.
Really people who cannot take care of pets should not be allowed to have children.
I am on pot plants at the moment recently graduated from rocks.
I don't disagree, I am not generalising.
Being able to see past the extreme right wing propoganda that immigrants are all evil is a core characteristic of becoming attractive to a larger female audience.
That might be hard to prove but I would love to understand how women's minds work a bit better.
There are so many people who are parents, but they shouldn't be actually. They abuse and neglect their own children. And yet someone got an idea to punish people for not having children. It's interesting, that in some people's minds having children is only a woman thing. Well, we can't impregnate ourselves out of nowhere, there must be a man involved. Best, if the man is involved not only in making the baby, but also in life. To not sound anti-men I want to emphasise, that there are many good loving and supportive fathers and partners.
The problem with people not having / not wanting babies is highly complicated and very complex. The core issues are lack of stability, poor financial situation, pressure for constant education and development, which often erases the plans of having babies. There are also various health issues, also mental health issues, the infertility etc. And it's also hard to find a good partner (applies to both sexes) because our times are somehow crazy, many people tend to have unrealistic expectations from others, but not willing to put effort. Or treating others like objects.
