UK government: don't give up the fight against child poverty!

Every day, Pauline's son lives with the pressure of poverty. "I constantly have to remind him how skint we are, despite the fact that he knows it because there’s nowt in the fridge. He gets quite frustrated by it… [the children have] obviously been worried… it’s just been very stressful." The family's situation leaves Pauline's children locked out of events, classes, and day-to-day activities that other children take for granted.

It shouldn't be this way in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Successive governments were making huge measurable progress to tackle child poverty thanks to the Child Poverty Unit introduced by Tony Blair. Over the last decade, it has signficantly reduced the number of children living below the poverty line in the UK. But now Theresa May is scrapping the internationally acclaimed Child Poverty Unit that has been working so well. The government has also scrapped the accompanying aim to end child poverty within 20 years.

Families living in poverty report a range of painful and persistent consequences, from bullying to educational struggles to health issues. Families do not want to live in poverty, but so many are trapped in vicious cirlces that give them no other option.

If we give up the fight against child poverty, we are giving up on the wellbeing and prosperity of our next generation. We also give up on being a compassionate and successful society. 

Please sign this petition to demand that the government reinstate the aim to eradicate child poverty within two decades, and re-open the Child Poverty Unit. If enough of us sign, it will put pressure on the government to re-examine their unpopular decision to give up on the fight against child poverty.