The UK government has failed to act on extreme poverty

In 2018, Philip Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty, described in detail the “gross misery” that the UK government had “inflicted” on the population through the “punitive, mean spirited, and often callous” policies of austerity.1 Alston said the levels of child poverty in the UK were “not just a disgrace, but a social calamity and an economic disaster.”1In November 2023, Olivier De Schutter, Alston’s successor as UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty, visited the UK. So, what’s changed? The “disgrace” of child poverty has not improved. In fact, it has worsened. A reported one million children in the UK experienced destitution in 2022.2 This means their families “could not afford to adequately feed, clothe, or clean them, or keep them warm.” The destitution was the result of cuts to benefits and an utterly inadequate government response to the cost of living crisis.2 This was anticipated and, arguably, could…
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