Poverty in the UK - disappearing according to Boris

JenniferEccles

You are not concerned about the high level of poverty and inequality happening in this country now? Brought about by austerity unneeded, zero hour contracts people on poverty wages, in insecure work poverty.

Government can change this but doesn't want to.

With the way the Tories run the economy even the poor or those you deem feckless or unworthy won't get any help or money on benefits to fritter away that's what this post is about. We have instead austerity. And people living in poverty unable to manage.

If the government brought in a living wage that would help as a start.

Why are so many Gransnetters against "wealth" ?

GGMK3, The UK has a free education system up till 18, healthcare free at point of use i.e. NHS.

The UK still has a benefit system, but bad news travels quicker than good, and suits some political agendas.

Universal Credit should be a safety net not a lifestyle choice.

I'm waiting for a fortune to fall at my feet if educational qualifications, prudence, hard work and being frugal equate with wealth!!

It bugs me when some people relate hard work to earnings.

It bugs me too gillybob. As far as I am aware earnings are related to skills. Everyone works hard with very few exceptions and not all at the lower end of the payscale.

The minimum wage should be enough to live on but without luxuries. Who decided that Ladymuck? And who decided what are luxuries? Some views expressed on here are pretty Victorian and yet they come from people who grew up with a National Health Service, free education and a welfare system we were all supposed to be able to rely on and that is without even thinking about the pensions we now have.

I just wonder if the holier than thous ever actually worked?

No problem Greta. That's how I interpreted it on second reading.

No, they're not JenniferEccles. If you had a good grade in English Language, you could never have drawn that conclusion.

Absolutely craftyone
You clearly had good parents who did what was necessary to provide for their family.

Some on here of course still maintain it’s all the wicked government’s fault if the feckless fall on hard times.

@ladymuck " A less well-educated person has to accept a lower standard.
The minimum wage should be enough to live on but without luxuries."

Being well educated doesn't always equate with higher pay. Many care workers who are very experienced and qualified to level 3 with additional add ons in Dementia etc. earn little more than this. are you seriously suggesting that the wonderful people who support people at end of life should be required to live "without luxuries"? It is often those who are least well paid that make the most difference.

It's we the public who've created the poverty among many.

From 2000 onwards it's been a dog eat dog society and the knock-on effect has been disastrous.

House sales started off by selling at ridiculously high prices, then companies cashed in by increasing their prices because they could see that if someone was prepared to purchase a silly-priced home they can afford a higher price to heat it and so on. Utility companies upped their prices too.

Then the renters jumped on the bandwagon charging what they liked and people still paid this higher rent which included extortionate rents for businesses etc.

Before you knew it economists were rubbing their hands, refusing to see further than their noses that there were others in society who weren't doing as well, working or not.

Instead of people banding together and refusing to pay such high prices for everything we've all gone along paying up and saying nothing forgetting/ignoring those who are left behind. Insidious snobbery in society is part of the problem towards those who are living in poverty.

JE I agree with all of your post. What helped my family out of poverty was the stability of 2 hard working parents and a mum who knew how to stretch a penny plus of course the willingness to work at school. Poverty these days is relative and can be self-inflicted

There has always been poverty here and in every other country, and there always will be as long as we have a sub class of people who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions and lifestyle.

Yes of course there are those in genuine need who quite rightly are helped by the Welfare State until such time as they are able to look after themselves, but as we all know that is not the whole story.

All the time we have those who for instance insist on producing child after child when they are struggling to support even themselves, nothing will change.

The government is not responsible for those who expect someone, anyone, to support whatever lifestyle they chose.

Sorry growstuff, I didn't express myself clearly. I think tolerance is a good thing but not when we tolerate and turn a blind eye/cover up issues that should not be tolerated. I feel poverty is just such an issue.

Initially, I think I misunderstood your last sentence Greta. I agree that most people in the UK are relatively tolerant. Maybe we're too tolerant. I don't believe we should tolerate poverty and increasing inequality as the norm. Unfortunately, there are some who don't seem to tolerate the poor as worthy of a decent existence and they blame them for their situation.

I find it shocking that in 2020 some people believe that poverty is somehow 'deserved'. I am forever reminded of ”there for the grace of God...”. I was lucky: born into a caring family, good health, good education, good employment. Yes, I worked hard but without the aforementioned my life would have been very different.

Poverty is degrading. But we are a tolerant society and we tolerate it.

Good point! Anybody would think people would prefer to have millions of people on a subsistence income, relying on bartering a few eggs for a bag of flour (or whatever). People with any wealth at all would end up living in a gated community for their own protection. That's what some third world countries are like, but I thought the UK was supposed to be above that.

To say that the minimum wage should just be enough to afford the basics is not sensible in our economy. Our society relies on trade, on us being able to buy things from each other and from other countries. Now there is probably an argument to be made that this model is not sustainable but at the moment that is what we have.
A great many businesses rely on customers having that bit of disposable income to enable them to buy their products. (Not just the alcohol and tobacco industries that some on here think are the main beneficiaries of anything above the breadline). It is better for our economy if more people at the lower end of the income scale have extra money because they will actually spend it and help the wheels of commerce, not squirrel it away in an offshore tax haven.
Therefore, reducing poverty will help all of us as a nation and would be sensible as well as compassionate.

Poverty in the UK: a guide to the facts and figures:

fullfact.org/economy/poverty-uk-guide-facts-and-figures/

Davidhs With all due respect, I really don't think you understand homelessness.

Aha! So it's all the fault of single parents, is it?

Some ideas for those who believe in meritocracy …

How about the state claiming back 100% of a person's estate upon death, so no child starts life with inherited wealth and nobody benefits from a dead ancestor's hard work? According to you, the most able would rise to the top.

How about guaranteeing an income for life based on a person's educational achievements? The most hard working would then be rewarded for their efforts.

The official poverty line is half the median wage around £15000 per year an older person or couple could usually manage on that, the problem is single parents or couples with children, especially when employment is difficult. By far the largest cost is housing, rents are far too expensive, to pay the rent, food is got from food banks and of course if free food is available it will be used. Rents need to be controlled no doubt, it is very hard for councils to find suitable accommodation for everyone, controlling rents will make that worse.

Homelessness is a different issue, relationship breakdown depression and mental illness are the factors here, poverty line is not relevant if you’re living on the street. Of course we need more hostels.

There are always going to be a large proportion of children in poverty because the level of single parent families is so high, no government is going to cure that, certainly not the Tories.

Yehbutnobut You're absolutely right. He was playing to an audience and knew he could get away with it. There was no substance to what he was saying. I hope everybody on minimum wage and/or claiming any means tested benefit was watching and realised that he really doesn't give a stuff about them. Approximately 70% of the population receives some form of benefit at some point in their life.

It was tough in the olden days …

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKHFZBUTA4k

I watched PQT and was shocked by Boris’ ignorance and his performance...because that’s what he was doing, performing, playing to the benches behind him.

He’s a absolute moron.

A lot of the causes of poverty is because of changes to benefits and universal credit having to wait five weeks for your money.

The system was supposed to be set up and running in by April 2017 but has faced several delays and not expected to be fully operational until December 2023