Birth rates and brexit
It was older voters who overwhelmingly voted for Brexit and it is the young whoo are going to pay the price. People with pensions have much of their future income locked in, the young don’t. While older people need increasing amounts of taxation and carers to look after them.
The solution to much of the problems raised by those simple facts is a much higher birth rate. The UK is not the worst offender in this respect, Germany realised ages ago that its low birth rate meant real long term challenges on all kinds of fronts. The UK’s rate is better than Germany’s but still the lowest on record.
The previous solution was immigration, lots of it. Bring in millions of young, ambitious, well educated people and growth will increase, tax income will rise, care homes will have enough staff and the generational gap will close; or at least not widen as much. But the older voters voted against immigration from the EU, there are therefore only really three solutions.
Rejoin the single market, massively increase immigration from other continents principally Africa and Asia or increase the birth rate. The first isn’t going to happen, the second will be less popular than EU free movement and the third means spending large amounts of tax on the young, not the old. Better child care, cheaper housing, tax breaks for having children, maternity and paternity payments; they all cost a lot.
Or you could start telling older people they are going to get smaller pensions, have to work into their 70’s, pay much more for care homes, and leave less to their kids.
Good luck winning an election with that manifesto, remember the elderly vote.
https://jonty.substack.com/