Beckhams a 'Bad Example'?

John Anderson recently here at YWC congratulated the Beckham family on the birth of their fourth child, daughter Harper.

Not everyone shares John’s enthusiasm about the arrival of the latest little Beckham however.

Some leftists in Britain think the Beckhams are setting a ‘bad example’ – not because of the ridiculous middle name they gave their new child, Seven – but because they have ‘too many’ children.

David and Victoria Beckham may have been overjoyed to welcome their new daughter, Harper Seven, last week but, according to a growing group of campaigners, the birth of their fourth child make the couple bad role models and environmentally irresponsible.

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Now the Green MP, Caroline Lucas, has joined other leading environmentalists in calling for the smashing of what TV zoologist Sir David Attenborough has called the “absurd taboo” in discussing family size in the UK.

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“The Beckhams, and others like London mayor Boris Johnson, are very bad role models with their large families. There’s no point in people trying to reduce their carbon emissions and then increasing them 100% by having another child,” he said. “England is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and the fastest-growing in population terms in Europe. In 15 years we’ll have an extra 10 million people here.”

The idea that the U.K. is producing too many children is preposterous. Like the rest of Europe – and most of the Western world – the U.K. has below replacement fertility, on average less than two children per woman. If anything, the U.K. could use a few more British births.

It is undoubtedly true however that the U.K. is densely populated and is growing even more so quickly. Since the native fertility is below replacement where do you think ALL of that growth is coming from?

Mass-immigration.

And that – not family size – is the true ‘absurd taboo’ in Britain and much of the West.

If leftists are genuinely concerned about population growth in the U.K. they should support ending mass-immigration, not harassing families in a below replacement country with more than enough means to responsibly support four children.

To the Beckhams: I say congratulations. I hope you have many more.