On 22nd June, the Today programme contained an interview with Karen Morgan, an economist who advises the Chancellor and is employed by the financial institution JP Morgan. She gave an admirably honest account of the orthodox view of tackling inflation. In the summary clip here, she states that the …
inequality
The Cost of Living Crisis
In 2022, the cost of living is of major concern for many. Rising prices in food, fuel and transport are forcing people to make hard choices over how they spend their money. The least well-off are the worst affected, with those choices being narrowed to heating or eating, or skipping meals to feed …
The Spring Statement number you need to know: 600,000 more people pulled into poverty
The most important number from the entire spring statement was not from the Chancellor but from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. They estimated that over the next year, 600,000 people will be pulled into poverty [1]. The 14.6 million people already experiencing poverty will of course be pulled …
Excrescences and Performative Cruelty
The former Welfare Reform minster has described two of his own policies as “excrescences” that were made into law because they were popular. The phrase “Performative Cruelty” has been used to describe such policies and most recently in describing the treatment of refugees. Here Paul asks if or when …
Poverty & Inequality briefing – Scotland
Updated March 2021 by David Bradwell “Poverty is not only about shortage of money. It is about rights and relationships; about how people are treated and how they regard themselves; about powerlessness; exclusion and loss of equity.” Participant at local poverty hearing held in …
Poverty & Inequality briefing – Wales
Updated March 2021by Gethin Rhys “Poverty is not only about shortage of money. It is about rights and relationships; about how people are treated and how they regard themselves; about powerlessness; exclusion and loss of equity.” Participant at local poverty hearing held in …
Poverty & Inequality briefing – England
Updated March 2021by Paul Morrison “Poverty is not only about shortage of money. It is about rights and relationships; about how people are treated and how they regard themselves; about powerlessness; exclusion and loss of equity.” Participant at local poverty hearing held in …
One week poverty rises: The next we cut benefits
Announcements you may have missed: Wednesday 27 March: Government announces that life expectancy falls for the poorest women in the UK. Dropping life expectancy in peacetime is extraordinary. The gap in life expectancy between rich and poor is also increasing, as is the gap in healthy …
UK Poverty is a choice: UN Rapporteur on Poverty
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights recently undertook a 12-day tour of some of the poorest areas of the UK as part of an investigation into poverty in Britain. Professor Philip Alston is one of the legal global experts in the field of economic and social …