The big beef

Edward We talked a lot about child benefit. I wouldn’t say I necessarily changed my mind – I still feel that if you’re going to have children, you’re essentially saying: “I can afford to provide for these children without any assistance.” So you shouldn’t expect any.

Jonjo I think his opposition to child benefit came partly from a place where he doesn’t have any kids. He said: “Why is nobody giving me anything for not having kids? That’s an environmentally friendly decision. I should be getting money off my council tax bill because I produce so little waste.” I said: “Childcare is prohibitively expensive; it prevents people from going to work, particularly mothers.” I think he got my point of view. He was really funny, actually; he made me laugh a lot. I think he’s a slightly contrarian character.

Edward I took his point that benefits in comparison with the cost of childcare are completely disproportionate. The £100 you might get as child benefit is insignificant if it costs you £800 a month to get childcare. What does £100 buy you, realistically? It’s not going to go very far, is it?

Jonjo We talked a lot about kids: he and his wife had come to the conclusion that they shouldn’t have kids because they weren’t willing to give up their lifestyle. Which I think is really sensible. He’s got a lot of mates who’ve got kids about the same age as mine, and he said they all make it look really hard.