BRITAIN is turning into a bachelor nation. A study reveals that the country has a greater proportion of unattached men than at any time since the 1940s.

Half of today’s 25-year-old men have never married or lived with a girlfriend, an increase from a third in the 1970s. The number of 30-year-old males similarly unattached has doubled over the same period.

The study by the London School of Economics (LSE) shows that while both men and women are delaying marriage and serious relationships, the effect is much more pronounced among men.

The last time so many men aged 25-30 reported never having lived with a female partner was in the second world war.

While the fall in marriage is well documented, it has widely been thought this is because couples are moving in together instead. But the LSE study, designed to test this notion, found growing numbers of men are simply not forming serious relationships until later in life.

The study looked at data on 10,000 people collected from 1991-2002 and will be presented at a conference of economists and sociologists this week. It shows 50% of men aged 25 have never lived with a woman, while 20% aged 30 find themselves in the same position.

The researchers do not offer an explanation but opinion falls into two broad camps.

Some suggest more men are simply choosing happy-go-lucky bachelor lives, as epitomised by the characters in the television sitcom Men Behaving Badly, while others think a growing minority are finding it harder to integrate into modern society and are living sadder, more solitary lives.

Phillip Hodson, a psychologist who has studied the behaviour of men for three decades, said: “There are the ‘work hard, play hard’ men who don’t want to be tied down. Then there are the stay-at-home young men who emotionally and psychologically have never made the breakaway, remaining relatively childlike, locked away with computers, living with mum and having their washing done. They may not be able to establish relationships, full stop.”

Roona Simpson, the study’s author, said last week the pressure of work may also be taking a toll, with young men concentrating more on careers and less on romance.

Other observers suggest that while people of both sexes are leaving education later this may take a greater toll on the romantic lives of men. Women also have a greater motive to enter into relationships early because of fears they may have more difficulty conceiving when older.

Adam Chappell, a 30-year-old bachelor from Earls Court in west London — who has never lived with a girlfriend — said many of his friends did not feel mature enough to settle down until their thirties. He had no regrets about his lifestyle. “It’s been fun. I’ve been able to drop everything and fly to New York at three days’ notice to see mates.

“There has been a string of failed relationships, but there’s the feeling of onwards and upwards. There’s a great sense of relief and you can go out on the pull again.”

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