a post by Heidi Allen MP (Member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee) for the CPAG (Child Poverty ACtion Group[ blog
A little over a century ago, the cry among social reformers concerned about the plight of the poor was for a safety net to be stitched together by the state, to catch any of our fellow citizens who were falling into the clutches of destitution.
Had those same reformers witnessed what we have picked up during the past six months – from visits to food banks in Poplar, Waterloo, Leicester, Morecambe, Chester, and Glasgow – they would be appalled by the extent of hunger, homelessness, and insecurity afflicting so many families and vulnerable individuals in our country.
Here we are introduced to an ‘Other Britain’ where entire communities are not only bypassed by economic growth but are also being pushed through gaping holes in the safety net. One support worker in Chester, for example, told us that, “I don’t meet a single person now who isn’t cold and hungry.”
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Read the whole report: The ‘Other Britain’ and the failure of the welfare state
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