J.K. Rowling has written an opinion piece for
The Times in support of Labour (the current government) for the upcoming UK general election, which takes place on May 6th. The editorial focuses on her experience as a single mother and how she benefited from Labour welfare initiatives, while also tackling how unwed mothers are demonised by society and are often misrepresented in the media. Finally, she looks at the Conservative manifesto, casting a critical eye over the pledges to reward those who are married.
Quote:
Women like me (for it is a curious fact that lone male parents are generally portrayed as heroes, whereas women left holding the baby are vilified) were, according to popular myth, a prime cause of social breakdown, and in it for all we could get: free money, state-funded accommodation, an easy life.
An easy life. Between 1993 and 1997 I did the job of two parents, qualified and then worked as a secondary school teacher, wrote one and a half novels and did the planning for a further five. For a while, I was clinically depressed. To be told, over and over again, that I was feckless, lazy — even immoral — did not help.
Quote:
Here are just a few of the facts that sometimes get lost on the way to an easy story, or a glib stump speech: only 13 per cent of single parents are under 25 years old, the average age being 36. Fifty-two per cent live below the breadline and 26 per cent in “non-decent” housing. Single-parent families are more likely than couple families to have a member with a disability, which gives some idea of the strains that cause family break up. In spite of all the obstacles, 56.3 per cent of lone parents are in paid employment.
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J.K. Rowling supports Labour in opinion piece for The Times 
