Making UK poverty history
making UK poverty history
'I just feel very angry sometimes that people are ignorant of the fact that we are humans as well and we do need to be respected.'
- nursery nurse from Coventry
'The worst blow of all is the contempt of your fellow citizens. I and many families live in that contempt.'
- a single parent of three children from North London
This booklet has been produced by
British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND)
BOND is the UK's broadest network of 290 voluntary organisations working in international development.
End Child Poverty Coalition
End Child Poverty is a coalition of organisations from the voluntary, private and public sectors campaigning to ensure that the goal of eradicating child poverty becomes a reality.
Oxfam's UK Poverty Programme
This programme was created in 1996, in response to the growth in poverty and inequality in the UK. Oxfam's experience of working with communities around the world brings new perspectives and approaches to tackling poverty at home.
Trades Union Congress (TUC)
With member unions representing over six and a half million working people, the TUC campaigns for a fair deal at work and for social justice at home and abroad.
TUC Unemployed Workers Centres
There are more than fifty TUC Unemployed Workers Centres across Britain, providing advice and representation on welfare issues. Their staff and volunteers are visited daily by claimants suffering from poverty and a benefit system which appears stacked against them, and they respond by campaigning with unemployed people for a better way.
Poverty in the UK?
In 2005, MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY mobilised millions of people. Together they challenged wealthy governments to do more to tackle poverty in developing countries. The campaign has been remarkably successful in changing people's attitudes to poverty and in getting politicians to listen and act.
Whereas before many people believed that debt relief and fairer trade were important, few thought that governments - in the UK and elsewhere - could be made to prioritise global poverty. That has all changed now.
But we know that poverty doesn't only exist in developing countries. Not everyone who lives in the wealthier countries of the world is a rich, privileged consumer. Many have been left behind in a parallel financial universe, living from hand to mouth with no bank account, few local shops, and constantly juggling bills and debts.
The figures paint a bleak picture. In Britain, one in five people is living in poverty [1] , many of whom go without basic necessities such as a warm coat and decent shoes [2] . Poor children are disadvantaged even before they are born. A child born into poverty is more likely to weigh less at birth, and is twice as likely to die before his or her first birthday [3] , or to leave school without qualifications, than one from a more affluent family.
Whilst material poverty is more severe in developing countries, the underlying causes, and the ways in which people are affected and the way they are treated, are very similar. In Britain, as in many other countries, there is unequal power and wealth and a lack of political will to put poverty at the top of the agenda.
How is poverty measured?
A commonly used measure is that those living on less than 60 per cent of median disposable income are living in poverty. In 2005, this means £98 per week for a single person with no children, £182 for a lone parent with two children (aged 5 and 11) and £210 for a couple with one young child.
What is poverty in the UK really like?
Beyond the statistics, we need to understand what living in poverty is really like. This means listening to what men, women and children say about it. It's not just about having enough money to live on or to plan for the future - although this is key. It's also about the way people living in poverty are regularly regarded with contempt and disrespect, at school, in the community and in the newspapers. When you're treated like this it's hard not to feel ashamed and worthless, which undermines your ability to support yourself and your family and to get out of poverty.
Two Indian community workers who visited poor areas of the UK in the 1990s observed that although people appeared to be generally much wealthier in the UK than in India, poor people seemed much more stigmatised and demoralised, and often have a 'complete lack of hope'. There is a 'safety net of welfare which ensures you don't starve' but this also creates the 'illusion that things are not so bad'. [4]
The United Nations Development Programme regards poverty as the lack of ability to live a long, healthy and creative life; to be knowledgeable, and to enjoy a decent standard of living; to enjoy dignity, self-respect, and the respect of others. It sees a 'life of respect and value' as a key aim of human development. [5]
'I am scared to be old and need help in this country now. My husband was the lucky one - he died. Even in death he had no dignity though; I had no money, so he went into a pauper's grave - and so will I.'
- elderly pensioner from Hackney, London
'All they have in front of them is more of it - constantly taking it in turns to sell things, pawn things, use a credit card. All their children know is poverty, being told to keep quiet when the bailiffs call, then the screams and tears when they get in.'
- lone parent from Glasgow
What can I do?
Finding out more
To get active in tackling poverty, it helps to know as much as you can about poverty.
Use the internet to read up on poverty
You can find briefings and news at the TUC (www.tuc.org.uk/welfare), the End Child Poverty coalition (www.ecpc.org.uk) and at Oxfam's UK Poverty Programme
( www.oxfamgb.org/ukpp/poverty ).
Sign up for email alerts on poverty issues
You can sign up for regular e-bulletins from the TUC on a range of subjects (www.tuc.org.uk). You can also register a key word like 'poverty' as an alert with a search engine such as Google (www.google.co.uk/alerts?hl=en) to receive a daily listing.
Read a book
Danziger's Britain: A Journey to the Edge by Nick Danziger
Hard Work: Life in Low-pay Britain by Polly Toynbee
Dark Heart: The Shocking Truth About Hidden Britain by Nick Davies
Who are we talking about?
Often people living in poverty are labelled, especially by the media or politicians, as an 'underclass', as 'scroungers' and 'benefit cheats' - people who milk the system, and even threaten the livelihoods and security of the rest of society. But this language is not just offensive and stigmatising, it also ignores the fact that living on benefits is really tough, and that many poor people make huge efforts to support their families and want to get off benefits. Women in particular struggle to protect their children from the worst effects of poverty.
And whilst government ministers regularly praise the efforts of 'hard-working families', this implies that those who are not in paid work do not matter, and reinforces the long-standing notion of the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor. This not only hurts many poor people - it also distances 'us' from 'them', and makes it less likely that the majority of the UK public will support a concerted effort to eradicate poverty.
' All they have in front of them is more of it - constantly taking it in turns to sell things, pawn things, use a credit card. All their children know is poverty, being told to keep quiet when the bailiffs call, then the screams and tears when they get in.'
- Lone parent from Glasgow
What can I do?
Raising awareness
If you want to do something about poverty in the UK, reading this pamphlet is a great start. When you've finished, why not give it to someone else to read?
Get more copies of this pamphlet
Get in touch with Richard Exell at the TUC on rexell@tuc.org.uk or 020 7636 4030 to order more copies of this pamphlet.
Spread the message
Talk about the problems of poverty and what needs to be done to everyone you know. Use all your networks - your circle of friends, your school or college, your place of worship, your workplace.
Give a talk
Why not organise a lunchtime or after work discussion on the causes and effects of UK poverty? Or you could ask to speak at school assemblies or local organisations. Organisations like Rotary Clubs, Mothers Union branches and Women's Institutes meet regularly and need speakers on interesting topics. Your local library will have a list of organisations in your area.
Poverty facts
One in four children, one in five working age adults and roughly one in five older people live in poverty.
Life expectancy at birth is 7.4 years more for male professionals than for unskilled manual workers. Poor areas also come off worse - life expectancy is 69 years in Glasgow, compared to 79 in North Dorset. [6]
Black and minority ethnic groups in the UK are especially vulnerable to poverty. Among Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, 55 per cent of adults, and 63 per cent of children, live in poverty. [7]
Women are 5 per cent more likely than men to live in poverty. But the real figure is likely to be higher, as resources are frequently not shared equally within the family. [8]
Lone parent families are at particular risk of poverty. 42 per cent of children living in poverty are living with a lone parent. [9]
Over three quarters of individuals in households where the head or spouse is unemployed live in poverty. [10]
Over 100,000 children do not have a permanent home [11] , and the number of homeless families is rising.
A family with no disabled members has a one in five chance of being poor. If they have a disabled child, this rises to one in four. If they have a disabled adult as well, it rises to one in three. [12]
Why do people live in poverty?
Some say people are poor because they are lazy, irresponsible or inadequate. They say that we live in a land of opportunities, so if anyone fails to take them up, it's their own fault. But we can't explain away poverty as the result of individual failure.
Poverty is fuelled by a range of factors, including family breakdown, poor education, living in sub-standard housing and inadequate services. All these factors are linked, creating a 'chain' which is difficult to break. Poverty is also strongly linked to being out of work, though those in work are often poorly paid too - half of all children living in poverty have a working parent.
If you are disabled or from an ethnic minority community you will face prejudice and hostility that makes it even harder for you to make a decent living. If you are a woman you will often have additional responsibilities as a carer, making it harder for you to get and keep a job. You might have to manage several low-paid jobs, such as cleaning, telephone sales or checkout work, on top of looking after your family.
Whilst some people are trapped in poverty for years, others may be temporarily unable to provide for themselves, due to some personal or economic crisis beyond their control.
What about benefits?
People often think that benefits provide enough to live on. But consider the actual amounts (£56.20 per week for everything except housing costs and council tax, for a single unemployed person [13] ) and all the different things you have to buy with that money to live a normal life.
Some people believe that asylum seekers are receiving massive handouts, but in fact they face some of the most severe poverty in the country. Many are refused all government support and can be left destitute, with the risk of their children being taken into care [14] . Those who do qualify for support only receive £39.44 per week [15] - 30 per cent lower than income support rates for a UK citizen.
What is the government doing about poverty?
The government has pledged to end child poverty in a generation (by 2020), halving it by 2010/11. The number of people living in poverty has started to go down in recent years owing to a number of government measures, particularly designed to help young children and families
But it looks increasingly likely that the Government will miss its first target of lifting 1 million children out of poverty by 2005 making it even tougher to meet the 2010 target without a fairer distribution of income. The UN's Human Development Report 2005 praises the government for its efforts to tackle child poverty since 1997, but argues it needs to consider raising taxes if that progress is to be kept up [16] .
What can I do?
Lobbying for change
Persuading those in authority to change the policies that hurt people in poverty is vital. You might not think that letters and emails could make a difference, but politicians take them very seriously indeed. One MP said: 'If I get five letters a week on one subject, I take notice. If I get twenty, I get worried.'
Write to your MP
Stay in regular contact with your MP and write to him or her about the issues that concern you. It can be worth asking your MP to put a question to a relevant government minister or department. Your MP can be reached at House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
There is an excellent website called Write to Them (www.writetothem.com) which will tell you who your MP is and then help you send a fax or email for free.
You can also find out what your MP has been saying in Parliament and how he or she has voted on key issues at the website They Work for You (http://theyworkforyou.com).
Write to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Send copies of letters you write to your MP to the people at the top. Keep on reminding them that poverty is an important issue that isn't going to go away.
Write to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA.
Write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer at HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Parade, London SW1A 2HQ.
Are fewer people living in poverty?
Since this government was first elected in 1997 the number of people living in poverty has fallen by 1.8 million. Children and pensioners have fared best, with some 700,000 children and 700,000 pensioners lifted out of poverty.
But we know that poverty has increased among certain groups. Couples with no children and 'economically inactive' households have not been a priority for this government. The number of working age adults (without children) living in poverty has increased from 3.3 million to 3.7 million since 1997. One of the reasons why such groups have fared worse is that benefit levels have not kept pace with rising average incomes. Harder to reach groups - homeless people, some black and minority ethnic groups and asylum seekers - are also losing out.
Poverty means...
'Having people think I was in care because I was a bad kid or had a bad mother.'
'Having all the same dreams for the future that everyone else has, but no way on earth to make them come true.'
'Knowing it is never going to get better, this is it.'
'Having no choice about where we live, what school the kids go to or what kind of jobs we get.'
'Everyone thinking they have the right opinion about me, just because I ask for a little bit of help.'
What can I do?
Rising to challenges
Poverty will not stand still - but it can be eradicated. This is a challenge for all of us.
Join a campaigning organisation
Becoming a member of a campaigning organisation is a great way to support campaigns on poverty at both a national and local level.
Challenge the media
If you think a news story is unfair, or depicts a stereotyped image of people living in poverty, write a short letter to the newspaper. You will see the address on the letters page, or you can often contact them by email.
If you hear something on the radio, or see something on TV that you think is unfair or unbalanced, call them up. Ask for the duty officer and explain why the programme was unbalanced or unfair, but don't get emotional or angry.
Here are some numbers you can call: BBC (020 8743 8000); BBC Radio (020 7580 4468); ITN (020 7833 3000); Sky News (020 7782 3000).
Make it fun!
Poverty is sometimes a deadly serious business, but in the way you communicate the issues you need to strike a balance. Take the issues seriously, but look for the humour and bring out the hope. Campaigning should inspire people to join you, not make them miserable.
What about the gap between rich and poor?
During the 1980s, the gap between the rich and poor in Britain grew dramatically at a rate that was exceptional internationally [17] . Since then this gap has not started to close - but in recent years there has been a sharp rise in the incomes of the top one per cent.
Increasingly, we know that poverty cannot be reduced without tackling the underlying inequality as well. Research shows that countries with the lowest levels of poverty tend to have more equal societies [18] . The wider the gap in wealth, the less likely it is that the rich will bother about, or even be aware of, people living on low incomes. .
Most people in the UK - around 80 per cent - think the gap between rich and poor is too large, and a clear majority believe the government has a responsibility to reduce inequality [19] . But there is much less agreement on whether the government should redistribute wealth to achieve this. Given the government's failure to argue the case, and its preference for what has been called 'redistribution by stealth', this is hardly surprising.
What can we do?
People who care about poverty in the UK have to learn the lessons of MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY. This campaign has shown what can be done to tackle poverty overseas. Now we must do the same here at home. One of the crucial ingredients is public support. Getting people to accept the gravity of the problem, and to become determined to do something about it, is essential if we are to succeed in relegating poverty to the history books in the UK.
'If the next 10 years did for the poor what the 1980s did for the rich, that would bring the UK within touching distance of the child poverty goals.'
- UN Human Development Report 2005
We need to organise and campaign at national and local levels to ensure people in poverty have a voice and a stake in society and their basic rights are upheld. Maybe you think that poverty is just a fact of life? Well, read this...
'Get Heard' - giving people in poverty a voice
The 'Get Heard' project, supported by a coalition of organisations, is encouraging grassroots groups and people living on low incomes to explore what is working and what needs to change in government anti-poverty policy. Through over 50 workshops across the UK, Get Heard is seeking to ensure that the experience and expertise of those most directly affected can influence national policy and local practice. A key lesson of Get Heard is that poverty affects every aspect of life, and there are many ways to address it. The project has produced a useful guide, setting out the consultation process on the government's anti-poverty policy, how to organise local workshops, and a range of information sources. See www.ukcap.org/getheard for further details.
A Tale of London Citizens
In 2003, members of a remarkable community-based organisation in East London called Telco (part of a broader alliance called 'London Citizens') attended the Annual General Meetings of HSBC and Barclays to ask that both banks pay a 'living wage' to their contracted-out cleaning and security staff. This demand was initially rejected by the two banks, although the issue generated instant press interest, particularly when Abdul Durrant, a cleaner at HSBC, gave dramatic testimony about life on low pay in the capital. Part of the bank's argument against the living wage was that they already gave significant sums to charities in East London. The Roman Catholic bishop of Brentwood responded with the memorable line: 'We want justice, not charity.'
As a result of this persistent campaign, staff employed by contractors to the two banks were able to secure a wage of £6.70 per hour, £2.20 higher than the then minimum wage of £4.50. See www.londoncitizens.org.uk for more information.
'Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.'
- Nelson Mandela
What can I do?
Changing the way you live
Volunteer
Volunteering can be a powerful force for change, both for those who volunteer and for the wider community. It exposes you to new situations and new people, and can help build up your confidence.
You can find volunteering opportunities at your local Volunteer Bureau or Council for Voluntary Service or through www.ecpc.org.uk/volunteering.asp or you can get in touch with CSV ( www.csv.org.uk ).
Give money
Poverty will be difficult to defeat unless we also restrain our individualism and selfishness. Do you give money to charity? Perhaps you should. And make sure that the money you give to banks is put to good use by opening an account with the Co-op (www.co-operativebank.co.uk) or Triodos (www.triodos.co.uk).
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
- Mahatma Gandhi
[1] Department for Work and Pensions (2005) Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 1994/95 to 2003/04.
[2] Department for Work and Pensions (2005) Family Life in Britain: Findings from the 2003 Families and Children Study (FACS) .
[3] ONS (2000) Births, perinatal and infant mortality statistics 2000, London.
[4] Thekaekara and Thekaekara (1995) Across the Geographical Divide, CIVA, London.
[5] See recent editions of the Human Development Report, published by the UN Development Programme: http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/
[6] National Statistics (2004) Focus on Social Inequalities, London: Office for National Statistics
[7] Department for Work and Pensions (2005), Households Below Average Income 1994/95 to 2003/04, Corporate Document Services, Table 3.5
[8] Bradshaw J. et al. (2003) Gender and Poverty in Britain, Working Paper Series No. 6, Manchester: Equal Opportunities Commission
[9] Department for Work and Pensions (2005), Households Below Average Income 1994/95 to 2003/04, Corporate Document Services, Table 4.4.
[10] Department for Work and Pensions (2005), Households Below Average Income 1994/95 to 2003/04, Corporate Document Services, Table 3.5.
[11] Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2004) Homelessness Statistics, Third Quarter.
[12] Department for Work and Pensions (2005) Households Below Average Income 1994/95 to2003/04, Corporate Document Services
[13] April 2005-March 2006 rate of income-based jobseeker's allowance for a single person aged 25 or over; 18-24 year olds get £44.50. www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk
[14] As a result of Section 9 of the 2004 Asylum and Immigration Act
[15] Rate for a single person aged 25 or over from 11 April 2005. For 18-24 year olds, the rate is £31.15
[16] http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/
[17] Hills J (2004) Inequality and the State, Oxford University Press.
[18] Jackson B., Segal P. (2004) Why inequality matters, Catalyst Working Paper
[19] Park A. et al (2004) British Social Attitudes: the 21st report, London: Sage
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