There were 4.1 million children living in poverty in Britain in 2017-2018. That figure is projected to rise to 5.2 million children by 2022. Perhaps surprisingly, seventy percent of children living in poverty live in a household where at least one parent works.
These figures are shocking.
The Resolution Foundation have assessed the policies of the three main parties and found that the Liberal Democrats will do most to tackle child poverty. However, the continued rise of child poverty under a Tory government should alarm us all. Under the Conservatives’ plans, the poorest households would be 13% worse off by 2023-24. This would bring child poverty to levels not seen for sixty years.
The Liberal Democrats would tackle child poverty by including introducing a ‘legal right to food’, axing the ‘two child cap’ in benefits (along with a number of other changes to the benefits system) and extending free childcare. Proposals to tackle fuel poverty will also help. However, we do not underestimate the scale of the problem – there is a long way to go.
The Resolution Foundation’s full report can be found here.
