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The UK is entering this election year with unacceptably high levels of poverty, appallingly high for some groups. We need a coherent plan with creative policies to end poverty in the UK. This report looks at the current situation across different groups and regions, and the future prospects for poverty in the UK.
One of the key elements of the report shows the degree of poverty that now exists in the UK: Poverty has increased, close to pre-pandemic levels More than 1 in 5 people in the UK (22%) were in poverty in 2021/22 – 14.4 million people. This included:
Poverty rates have returned to around their pre-pandemic levels, as middle-income household incomes rose at the same time as a range of temporary coronavirus-related support was withdrawn. It adds: It has been almost 20 years and 6 prime ministers since the last prolonged period of falling poverty The overall level of poverty has barely moved since Conservative-led Governments took power in 2010. Poverty last fell consistently during the first half of the last Labour administration (between 1999/2000 and 2004/05), but then rose in the second half of their time in power. In part, this reflects the hits to living standards that have affected everyone, from the economic slowdown even before the global financial crisis to the current cost of living crisis. Before 1979, levels of poverty had been broadly flat at around 14%. In the 1980s, under the Conservative Government of Margaret Thatcher, there was then an unprecedented rise in poverty even at a time of high income growth, due to very unequal income growth over this period. This has not been reversed, meaning current levels of poverty are around 50% higher than they were in the 1970s. The full report can be downloaded from the E-Library under the category of 'Social Issues (Health & Wellbeing) Source:Joseph Rowntree Foundation
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