7 in 10 think children should live with both parents

WITH fewer couples getting married these days, it might seem many aren’t interested in a traditional family life.

But a report has shown the opposite is true – with seven in ten people believing it is best for children to grow up with both their natural parents. A similar number believe the fragility of families is one of the country’s most serious problems.

The report was published yesterday by the Centre for Social Justice think-tank, founded by ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, ahead of the Conservative conference.

Mr Duncan Smith and a group of Tory MPs and peers are pressing the Government to do more to support family and marriage.

The number of opposite-sex couples who marry has fallen by 6.2 per cent since 2012. Just one in six unmarried cohabiting couples stay together until their children reach 16.The CSJ report was based on a series of polls. The first survey of 2,000 people, by ComRes, found 72 per cent think ‘family breakdown is a serious problem in Britain today and more should be done to prevent it’, while 69 per cent think it ‘important’ for children to live with both parents.

A YouGov survey of 1,665 people found 81 per cent think ‘stronger families are important in addressing Britain’s social problems’. In a third poll, by parenting site Bounty.com, nine out of ten said it is important for children to grow up with both parents – including nearly two thirds of single parents.

Eight in ten backed a tax break for married couples – including 57 per cent of lone parents. Frank Young of the CSJ said: ‘This polling busts the myth that backing families in our fight against poverty has gone out of fashion.’