The Decline of Marriage: Why We Need to Prioritise Family Life (Ed Davies) episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 5, 2026 · 1H 6M

The Decline of Marriage: Why We Need to Prioritise Family Life (Ed Davies)

from Radical with Amol Rajan · host BBC Radio 4

Marriage rates in the UK have fallen to historic lows, but what are the consequences? Ed Davies, research director at right‑leaning anti‑poverty think tank the Centre for Social Justice, explains what has led to this shift and argues that it has caused a decline in family stability with profound consequences for society. To deal with it he says we need to modernise marriage and adopt a range of policies that promote family life. TIMECODES (00:04:29) The decline of marriage in the UK (00:06:33) Why is the marriage decline happening? (00:19:10) Delayed adulthood and rise in autonomy (00:21:52) Are there benefits to the decline in marriage? (00:24:49) The consequences of the decline in marriage and family stability (00:32:37) Can marriage be modernised? (00:34:57) Feminism and motherhood (00:47:04) How this affects the UK’s welfare bill (00:53:37) The impact of Andrew Tate on young boys (00:58:57) Ed’s radical ideas (01:03:57) Amol’s Reflections GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: [email protected] Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002f1d0/radical-with-amol-rajan Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Tom Smithard, Anna Budd and Lewis Vickers. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Dafydd Evans. The editor is Sam Bonham. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 5, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

The Decline of Marriage: Why We Need to Prioritise Family Life (Ed Davies)

0:00 1:06:52

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Radical with Amol Rajan?

This episode is 1 hour and 6 minutes long.

When was this Radical with Amol Rajan episode published?

This episode was published on March 5, 2026.

Can I download this Radical with Amol Rajan episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!