Modern Britain: Single-parent families are now so common that couples living with their children are the minority in some parts of the country

Data shows there are seven Parliamentary constituencies where single-parent families make up the majority of households. There are close to 2 million single-parent families in Britain and the British have the highest proportion of children brought up in one-parent families of any major European country. The seven areas where single-parent families are the majority are in the urban hearts of London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. In one constituency, Lewisham Deptford, 58% of households with children are headed by lone parents. Research has shown that children growing up in fatherless homes are much less likely to do well at school and are at twice the risk of getting into problems with alcohol or drugs, or involved in crime. The British welfare system has been partly to blame, by providing a substitute breadwinner rather than encouraging parents to stick together. A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development revealed that 23% of British children up to the age of 14 live in single-parent families, behind the United States on 26%. And 48% of single mothers in Britain are unemployed, the highest rate in the OECD apart from Turkey.