Official National Statistics show that per head figures of annual growth for 2006 were lower than 1911 (and lower still as a percentage of population). Expressed metaphorically (e.g. using Cardiff as a representation of population growth) an extra 385,000 may seem a problem, yet there are no solid predictions of either economic collapse or social destruction anywhere in the near future. Economic recession (as we may be about to enter) has far more intricate complexities than simple population size, and one of the biggest limitations on social services is that people just don’t like to be taxed that much (in the 2001 general election, the differences in taxation offered by the two major parties fell within the margin of error that is given within each chancellor’s annual budget). Immigration is at a high right now, but 100 years ago it was emigration that was the concern: how can we legitimately claim that there’s a crisis coming sometime in 2200?
Any restriction on population growth instantly increases the government’s hold over ethics, morality, and may translate into factors such as age, class and culture. Cutting child benefits is a suggested method of controlling population growth – but one which the wealthy can bypass. Unless one advocates tearing extra children from their families, or some form of extermination, the sanctions for exceeding a child-bearing quota are likely to be economic, so this is a relevant concern.
Fantasising about population control is needless and pointless – best stick to defending the pound sterling and the imperial measuring system…

The suggestion that any governing body should have the right to impose itself on so personal an idea/desire/need of the individual is frightening. The key to population control is not prohibition but education and quality of life. Encouraging ambition in the young through quality education supplemented with awareness of a population crisis (if there is one at all, which as yet I cannot see) should be the aim of any government attempting to tackle such a problem. The emergence of ‘career women’ in modern times and the resulting decrease in the amount of women marrying/giving birth young is evidence of this. Steps must also be taken, perhaps most significantly, to combat teen pregnancy and promote safe sex.
Prohibiting people from breeding is both sinister and doomed to failure. It does not succeed in China and it will not succeed here. There it is enforced through bribery, coercion, forced sterilization, forced abortion, and possibly infanticide particularly in rural areas where the population have no voice. Children are discarded, or killed. Certain segments of the population are discriminated against. Imbalances have occurred as the next generation of only one child takes on the responsibility of providing for both its parents and grandparents. It is quite simply an affront to the most basic of human rights.
It is impossible to enforce without resorting to the aforementioned tactics or some equally detestable derivative. It is an impractical law and is something that can only be achieved by societal progress and improvement, not by command.

Scotland’s population has been declining for the past 10 years, and combined with the aging of the population, this has meant fewer tax-paying citizens. Encouraging the migration of young workers from abroad would give a much needed boost to local economies in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.