Government could solve falling birth-rates by encouraging single women to have children, according to a UK political correspondent.

Writing in the Guardian, Martha Gill said falling birthrates are frequently blamed on a shortage of childcare and housing plus income problems, but the evidence for this is lacking.

Rather, she says it is ‘female empowerment’ that tracks with declining births as many financially independent women have not found the right person to have a child with.

“Surveys of childless women tell us that a top reason is not career, lifestyle or financially related: it’s that they just haven’t found the right partner. This was the second most common reason given in a representative UK study of 42-year-old childless women – right behind not wanting children. (Focusing on career was way down the list.)”.

She then offers a “radical solution”. She notes that single women may not want to pair up, but they can still have children alone. Yet single motherhood is still offputtingly tough and to some extent socially penalised.

“Policymakers would do well to think about how they could better support single mothers. Target them and watch birthrates rise,”, she concludes.

However, countries like Sweden have very high numbers of unmarried mothers but its fertility rate is still well below replacement level.