Ellen Morris, mother of 13 children, should be encouraged, not criticised, says peter briffa
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The papers love to get worked up about multi-babied families on the take. The latest whinge is about a Lancashire woman, Ellen Morris, who gets almost £28,000 a year in benefits to help look after her 13 children, the youngest of whom is called Beckham.
She started early (you could almost call her a prodigy), leaving school at 16 in order to pursue her hobby. Ms Morris is only in her thirties so there's still time, Cherie-style, to pop a few more. She certainly shows willing. "I'd like another couple of kids," she is quoted as saying. "Why not?"
Why not, indeed? It is easy to argue that Ms Morris is milking the system but is she doing any worse than the pensioner going on his free train rides to see the grandchildren?
Moreover, there is a bucketful of irony to the fact that this story came out on the same
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| Is a mother on benefits milking the system any worse than the pensioner going on his free train rides? |
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day that the Institute of Public Policy Research was complaining of the dearth of babies in our society. Not because they are lovely little creatures whose plaintive squeals enhance all our lives, but because the government pension racket is fast running out of dosh.
"Our society depends on women working, being able to fulfil their aspirations and have greater equality at work - and we need better to support that," claims Nick Pearce, spokesgoon for the IPPR. Mr Pearce proposes that the government spend £11 billion a year setting this right, largely by increasing the remit of the welfare state.
Well, I've got a cheaper solution. Instead of demonising the likes of Ellen Morris, let's hold her up as a role model. Lie back and think of England - or at least its pension crisis. Your country needs you. 
FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 21, 2006
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