Conservatives pledge to support lone parent families
Cathy Wallace
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Conservative Party must become more single parent-friendly, shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling has said.
But, in a stinging attack on modern families, he argued many parts of society had forgotten how to bring up children.
And a major single parent charity has said the Conservatives have a way to go before they can be seen as lone parent-friendly.
Speaking to think-tank Reform, Grayling said his party had a history of seeming to be at war with lone parents, which had to end.
"We want to help lone parents build their lives, not stigmatise them," he said. He added: "There are too many communities where parents no longer know what good parenting is."
Non-working families need to be helped back in to work and truancy must not be tolerated, he argued. He also said the welfare system needed to protect family stability and pledged an end to the couple penalty in the tax credit system under a Conservative government.
"If we are to tackle the endemic problems in too many parts of our towns and cities, then better parenting will be a vital part of the solution," he said.
Fiona Weir, chief executive of charity One Parent Families|Gingerbread, said there was still far to go before Conservative party policies became lone parent-friendly.
"Proposals floated by the Conservative party, including giving more money to married couples only and pressuring lone parents with five-year-olds to work, are hard to reconcile with a positive recognition of lone parents' needs," she said.
And a major single parent charity has said the Conservatives have a way to go before they can be seen as lone parent-friendly.
Speaking to think-tank Reform, Grayling said his party had a history of seeming to be at war with lone parents, which had to end.
"We want to help lone parents build their lives, not stigmatise them," he said. He added: "There are too many communities where parents no longer know what good parenting is."
Non-working families need to be helped back in to work and truancy must not be tolerated, he argued. He also said the welfare system needed to protect family stability and pledged an end to the couple penalty in the tax credit system under a Conservative government.
"If we are to tackle the endemic problems in too many parts of our towns and cities, then better parenting will be a vital part of the solution," he said.
Fiona Weir, chief executive of charity One Parent Families|Gingerbread, said there was still far to go before Conservative party policies became lone parent-friendly.
"Proposals floated by the Conservative party, including giving more money to married couples only and pressuring lone parents with five-year-olds to work, are hard to reconcile with a positive recognition of lone parents' needs," she said.