Levels of child poverty in the UK are rising, and set to continue rising. 4.5 million children are currently growing up without access to the essentials of life. But we believe that should and can change.
“The impact of growing up in poverty is huge. It affected me physically, mentally and emotionally. Not eating enough food as a child affects your health, weight and concentration. You feel angry and confused. A child can’t understand why they’re excluded from school trips with their friends, or why they don’t have new clothes. You feel different. I felt like I was being punished. I didn’t understand we just didn’t have the money.
Poverty is a wound that festers and it casts a long shadow over a lifetime. We as a society have a chance to end this cycle.”
Louise, 24
This autumn, as the government finalises its long-delayed child poverty strategy, please tell your MP that it’s time for bold action. There needs to be an ambitious plan for transformation, backed with the government spending that’s going to be necessary to have an impact. This includes abolishing the two-child limit on benefits, which on its own could lift half a million children out of poverty.
Take action now
If you have one minute: Email your MP through Action for Children’s website here or via Trussell’s website here.
If you are a church leader, add your name to our open letter to the government, in partnership with Church Action on Poverty.
Add your name to the petition to introduce a gambling levy to cut the two-child limit.
If you have ten minutes: Write an email or letter to your MP in your own words. This is usually much more likely to get noticed and receive individual attention than a template email generated through a website.
Click here to find out who your MP is, and their contact details including their email address.
To inform your letter, you might like to catch up with JPIT’s latest blog on how we could reduce child poverty by half a million, read what faith leaders said about this in August and in March, or watch a short film from Action for Children.
If you have 20 minutes: Once you’ve contacted your MP, can you encourage some others to do so, too? This could be sending a few friends and family members a message with a link to this page, posting on social media, writing a short notice for your church newsletter, or speaking about it in a group you’re part of.
If you have longer: Get together with others in your church or community and arrange a time to go and see your MP, or invite them to an event, to discuss the issues and why they are important. If possible, do this in partnership with projects or groups that involve people with lived experience of poverty. Nothing beats the impact of face-to-face contact, and hearing directly about people’s experiences.
For support in building a positive and purposeful relationship with your MP, check out JPIT’s Constituency Action Network.
