Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent

‘Punishing us’: despair as families face real-term cut to universal credit

Alifjane Begum, with her three children, says the family would be unable to switch on the heating, buy new clothes or even afford enough groceries.
Alifjane Begum, with her three children, says the family would be unable to switch on the heating, buy new clothes or even afford enough groceries. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Such is the Begum family’s financial strife that seven-year-old Anisa recently told her mother they were so poor they might as well move to where her grandmother lives: Bangladesh.

Fleeing to one of the world’s more impoverished countries may seem strange, but the fact it is being discussed in one east London home is telling of widening desperation. Now, at the end of an already gruelling week, things could be about to get worse for millions with real-terms welfare cuts reportedly under consideration by a government that recently cut taxes for the rich.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.