Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have been urged to unveil plans to tackle hardship at their first TV debate on Tuesday night, as new analysis suggests an estimated 900,000 people are just £10 a week from the poverty line.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said that current levels of poverty were “a stain on the moral conscience of our nation” and that whoever becomes prime minister on 4 July must reverse “this dismal trend a priority”.
It comes as the two political leaders are set to face off on ITV and try to convince the nation’s voters to back their party in the upcoming general election.
Official statistics released earlier this year showed the estimated total number of people in relative low income was at 14.35 million in the year to March 2023, with some 4.33 million of those being children.
The latest figure for young people was the highest since comparable records for the UK began in 2002/03, and prompted campaigners at the time to say young people are being failed and forgotten.
JRF said its recent further analysis of the raw data suggested there are 1.7 million people across the UK who are just £20 a week away from the poverty line. Around 400,000 are children and half a million are pensioners.
An estimated 900,000 people are just £10 a week from the poverty line, including around 200,000 children and 300,000 pensioners, the research suggested.
Paul Kissack, CEO of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “Such high levels of hardship, with millions experiencing poverty and millions more teetering on the edge of it, are a stain on the moral conscience of our nation.
“It has been six prime ministers since this country last made sustained progress on reducing poverty. During that time we’ve seen a sustained rise in the number of people in deep poverty, with hardship and destitution growing even faster. Whoever is prime minister after July 4 must make reversing this dismal trend a priority.
“Our political leaders must be specific and ambitious about how they will tackle poverty. But so far there hasn’t been anything like the level of urgency from either Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer that we need to see. Pointing to future growth as a panacea just won’t cut it.
“Tonight’s debate is a chance for both leaders to set out their plans and demonstrate they are serious about addressing hardship. Failure to act is a political and moral choice, and one they should expect to be judged on.”
