To think, without upsetting anybody, we are massively overpopulated on this tiny Island??? What sensible non punitive solutions are there??

[PasstheBucket89]

Its pretty relevant with all the talk about migrant boats, priti patel saying she will make the passage unviable etc she has done some awful things, it makes my blood run cold tbh i doubt she cares about the safety of them in that boats. But, what di we do, and when suggestions are made its often motivated by hate not quality of life issues. And yes, the ageing massively adds to the overpopulation aswell, but what should we do? reasonably? this tiny Island is massively overpopulated, it doesn't benefit anyone to be crammed in like sardines like this, massively effects access to housing, healthcare, education etc, What should the gov do, not adding to the hostile environment??.

[Nottherealslimshady]

We're overpopulation the planet.

[imissthesouth]

@Serin
I love my garden and spend a lot of time in it with the kids, but parks would be a better option and more environmentally friendly rather than a ton of gardens that mostly get concreted up anyways. Perhaps this is a solution for future housing?

[SandieCheeks]

@Redcups64

I think it’s crazy to say we are not over populated, what with all the homeless and hungry within the U.K. we can’t deal with them let alone more! That’s more people regardless of if they are born here or seeking refuge before I’m jumped on!

Homelessness and hunger isn't inevitable - it's not because we don't have enough money or food.

The Queen has a personal fortune of £300 million + and she's not even one of the top 300 hundred richest people in the UK.

[Viviennemary]

I think the earth as a whole is overpopulated and wonder how long it will take for measures to be put in place to address this. The population can't go on increasing for the next few hundred years. Its a world problem.

[Justanotherlurker]

People always trot out we are not over populated until it comes to building more houses, there is also vasts of land that are not suitable for building on and most people would not want to build over vast swathes of country side and there isn't enough brown field sites before that comes up.

We may not be over populated but we are one of the highest density populated in europe

www.worldometers.info/population/countries-in-europe-by-population/

[ItsPeanutButterJelly]

[quote OhhhPeee]The birth rate is falling and we will be entirely dependent on migration within 100 years.
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/health-53409521[/quote]
And this! We'll be desperate for people to come here in a few decades. And we're too busy making this country as unattractive as possible to potential residents, not to mention the ones living here now, to see jr

[Slippy78]

The best thing you can do is not have children.

[Pepperwort]

It's not overpopulation issue, it's a shit management of resources issue.

This is always the argument on these threads.
Curiously enough I see no sign that the shit management of resources - which I do agree is happening - is going to change any time soon. The political direction of the UK is towards greater inequality, not less. Meanwhile, can I ask everyone who believes that there's plenty of room here one simple question?

What is the maximum carrying capacity of people on these islands?
All right, two - how many more people do you want stuffed into this mini?

[wagtailred]

No takers for renting a bit of France then.

[ItsPeanutButterJelly]

@Talklessmilemore

Overpopulation doesn’t just refer to actual proportion of land built on. How easy is it to get your children in a good school locally, get a GP appointment, get seen in an emergency and the like? Or travel somewhere without being stuck in traffic or on the train crammed in. Access to facilities travel and healthcare etc is just as important. In that sense we are definitely getting closer to capacity. It’s irrelevant that someone could build thousands of houses on open space if there are none of these other things that can absorb the extra population.

This isn't over-population, though. It's underfunding of infrastructure, and failure to capture the betterment from development we should so this can be used to meet the need of the extra people.

[PlanDeRaccordement]

By definition the island of Britain is overpopulated. To not be overpopulated, you must be able to feed the existing population with food (plant or animal) farmed on the island.

Three quarters of the land is agricultural land but the produce from these farms can only feed one third the existing population. This is despite the most modern techniques being used.

This is the scientific definition. It’s not political or otherwise motivated as a “con”.

[HesterShaw1]

Saying x% of the UK isn't built on proves we are not overpopulated completely ignores the fact that vast swathes of the country are utterly unsuitable for building on. We are constantly finding out to our cost what building on floodplains results in, for example. Certain areas are undeniably overcrowded.

Resources and infrastructure are overstretched and not fit for purpose also.

We need more investment in those and therefore more tax to be paid.

[SandieCheeks]

There are 100s of 1000s of empty homes in the this country.

Some have never, ever been lived in the owners never intend for them to be lived in.
Some are second (or third, or fourth) homes that are barely lived in.
Some are abandoned and left derelict.

Lots of homes are just hoarded by rich people are a way of storing wealth (or for tax evasion or money laundering).

[madroid]

@Serin
When the 'nobility' of the land in the UK own 90% of the space people will always live in substandard conditions.

The answer isn't to cheat ppl of a garden but share out what we have more fairly. That will never happen with a royal family at the top fixing the system in place so that it can't be changed.

[Doje]

We are not over populated.

More land is taken up by golf courses in the UK, than by private dwellings.

Problem solved.....

[DdraigGoch]

@AntiHop

But we're not over populated. Some cities are overcrowded yes, but overall we have a huge amount of unused space.

Don't be ridiculous. How do you think we eat? The only unused space is that which is unusable.

[TaxTheRatFarms]

To not be overpopulated, you must be able to feed the existing population with food (plant or animal) farmed on the island

That’s interesting (genuinely!). I was idly wondering what the “official” definition is. Now I’m idly wondering which countries aren’t overpopulated by that standard. It’s quite rare to be a self supporting country isn’t it.

[PlanDeRaccordement]

[quote madroid]@Serin
When the 'nobility' of the land in the UK own 90% of the space people will always live in substandard conditions.

The answer isn't to cheat ppl of a garden but share out what we have more fairly. That will never happen with a royal family at the top fixing the system in place so that it can't be changed.[/quote]
It’s actually 69% and much of it is zoned for business purposes, not residential.

[SandieCheeks]

@DdraigGoch how about using 400,000 unused homes?

[SansaSnark]

To say we have a shortage of housing when people are allowed to own homes that stay empty for a large part of the year is laughable.

Problems with GPs and schools (which don't apply in every area) are due to these sectors being starved of funding, not population levels.

We have an ageing population, without immigration, we will end up like Japan, stuck in a long term recession with all the problems that brings.

People want to come here mainly because they speak English, or have family/cultural ties with the UK. In general, most asylum seekers don't have much knowledge of the benefits system. They want to work and be economically active in the UK. If we hadn't conquered half the world, ironically, people might be less keen to come here.

The first safe country "rule" is not international law, it's an EU treaty which very soon won't apply to us anyway.

Refugees are a very convenient scapegoat for the government, when their own underfunding has caused problems with the provision of services.

If you're so eager to place the blame on desperate people who have nothing, rather than the wealthy who hoard resources, that says something about you.

[museumum]

To not be overpopulated, you must be able to feed the existing population with food (plant or animal) farmed on the island

The decision to not be or even try to be self-sufficient in food is a political one. We (as in the governments we democratically elect) have chosen to import food rather than produce it here. So if that is the scientific definition then we have deliberately chosen “overpopulation”

[SansaSnark]

Oh, and also our farming industry is absolutely reliant on immigration (not refugees, admittedly). Without immigration, we'd produce far less food in this country.

[Mistymonday]

We are overpopulated - I value our wild countryside and wildlife, our forests and the NHS and welfare state. Exponential growth is unviable in any system. I think we need to find a fair way to prevent this, educating people not to have massive families, including a benefits cap, to allow immigration where needed but keep it restricted to sustainable numbers (regardless of nationality/ skin colour).

[Eyeris]

Cool. Are you volunteering to leave? Bye