EconomyHuman Rights

Poverty grips over 50% of UK children

A child poverty map revealed recently shows more than half of British children in some councils across the UK are below the poverty line, with the worst-hit area being London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Shocking figures released in a new report conducted by the Campaign to End Child Poverty revealed that between 50% and 70% of children live below the breadline in several local authority areas in the UK.

The report blamed the coalition government’s cuts for the growing number of poverty-stricken children in Britain saying “Too much time has been spent on rhetorical debate and delays.”

Moreover, the report criticised the widening gap between the number of children below the poverty line in different constituencies.

Only 7% of children in British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Witney constituency were below poverty line. Moreover, the lowest rate of poverty-stricken children was 5% which belonged to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s Sheffield Hallam constituency.

“The child poverty map paints a stark picture of a socially segregated Britain where the life chances of millions of children are damaged by poverty and inequality,” said Alison Garnham, executive director of the campaign.

Furthermore, the campaign hit out at the coalition government’s austerity drive saying it has catastrophic consequences for British families and, as a result, for the British economy.

“Targeting cuts on families will prove both an economic and a social disaster, with businesses losing billions of pounds of demand and families struggling to keep their kids clothed, fed and warm,” said Garnham.

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