Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Dear Harriet Harman,

To read about your interview on family life this morning was very revealing and very sad.  In a country where we have the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe, where we are bottom out of 21 developed countries in a UN report on the wellbeing of children (including child poverty, health, education, family and peer relationships, drug abuse and sexual behaviour)) and where our divorce rates have already reached a shocking level, it horrifies me that you can say on the record that you think marriage is irrelevant to family life - and that’s not the worst of it.

Your interview was littered with baseless statements that clearly demonstrate your total and utter disregard for family life in the UK.  You claim that there is no ‘ideal’ household in which children should grow up, despite DECADES of research evidence showing that children brought up with two parents have better outcomes than those in single-parent households and also ignoring the reality that half of all single-parent households live below the poverty line.  This is not because single parents don’t necessarily care for and love their children, rather that it is blindingly obvious to anyone with a shred of common sense that having two possible sources of income, two role models, two caring adults etc will offer children a better chance in life.  For you to say that a government should not encourage marriage through policy decisions is incredible, giving the evidence against you.  And it gets worse.  In 24 hours time, Labour will attempt to remove the ‘need for a father’ from IVF rules, which amounts to yet another heavy government assault on the wellbeing of children.  A father cannot give a 100% guarantee of happiness for a child, but to use public funds to help single women have children in the complete absence of a father figure damages the future chances of a child before they’ve even been born.

I feel sorry for you that your ignorance and desperate wish to appease voters clouds your judgement.  It is ironic that Gordon Brown has recently said that “the doctors and scientists I speak to are committed to what they see as an inherently moral endeavour that can save and improve the lives of thousands and, over time, millions of people” when talking about human-animal hybrids, yet Labour show complete contempt for the psychologists, sociologists and family workers whose ‘moral endeavour’ is to promote the best possible environment for children.

Yours sincerely,

A.Tory