The British Government has made “a political choice” to increase poverty
Britain is the fifth largest economy in the world, but:
- About 14 million people, a fifth of the population, live in poverty and 1.5 million are destitute, being unable to afford basic essentials.
- Child poverty could rise by 7% between 2015 and 2022, possibly up to a rate of 40%.
Who says so?
Philip Alston, the UN’s rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, who has just ended a two-week fact-finding mission to the UK.
He concludes his report:
“The experience of the United Kingdom, especially since 2010, underscores the conclusion that poverty is a political choice. Austerity could easily have spared the poor, if the political will had existed to do so. Resources were available to the Treasury at the last budget that could have transformed the situation of millions of people living in poverty, but the political choice was made to fund tax cuts for the wealthy instead.”
You can read the full report here.
This entry was posted on Saturday, November 17th, 2018 at 11:52 am and is filed under British current affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
2 Comments
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Nadine Wiseman
November 17th, 2018 at 11:17 pmThat’s a devastating conclusion, isn’t it.
And Brexit will make things even worse?
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Roger Darlington
November 18th, 2018 at 9:51 amSadly, Brexit in any form will make things even worse.
I am still hoping that Brexit can be prevented through a second referendum.