{"id":50232,"date":"2026-04-14T06:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=50232"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:54:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:54:26","slug":"tuesday-briefing-what-needs-to-be-done-to-tackle-child-poverty-in-the-uk-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=50232","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday briefing: What needs to be done to tackle child poverty in the UK | UK news"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The austerity years cast a long shadow over Britain. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, a programme of cuts overseen by then-chancellor George Osborne<\/a> and the work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith gutted parts of the welfare state, limiting the generosity of what is now universal credit, introducing a bedroom tax and the two-child limit for child benefit. By 2021, an estimated \u00a337bn had been cut from welfare spending each year alone, with further cuts made to other branches of government.<\/p>\n

The consequences of these decisions are all around us. Around four million children were classified as living in poverty in the UK, according to the most recent figures. This week, a University of Oxford study<\/a> revealed that more than one-fifth of all \u201causterity generation\u201d British children \u2013 <\/strong>that is, children born since 2013 \u2013 <\/strong>have been scarred by poverty for at least half their childhood.<\/p>\n

For today\u2019s newsletter, I spoke to Patrick Butler<\/strong><\/em>, the Guardian\u2019s social policy editor, about the new research and ask whether enough is being done to tackle child poverty in the UK. First, this morning\u2019s headlines.<\/p>\n

Five big stories<\/h2>\n
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  1. \n

    Southport attack<\/strong><\/em> | Axel Rudakubana was able to carry out the Southport atrocity because of \u201ccatastrophic\u201d failures by multiple agencies and the \u201cirresponsible and harmful\u201d role of his parents, a damning inquiry has found<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Middle East crisis<\/strong><\/em> | The US blockade of ships using Iranian ports in the Gulf began<\/a> <\/a><\/strong>on Monday evening<\/a>, turning the six-week-old conflict between the US-Israeli coalition and Iran into a test of economic endurance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Health<\/strong><\/em> | Metabolic liver disease (MASLD) will affect 1.8 billion people worldwide by 2050, driven by rising obesity and blood sugar levels, according to a new report<\/a>. There are now 1.3 billion people worldwide living with MASLD, a 143% increase in just three decades.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    Scotland<\/strong><\/em> | A funding deal to raise \u00a3100m from private investors for urgently needed nature restoration in Scotland has fallen through without the Scottish parliament being told, the Guardian has learned<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    XL bully ban <\/strong><\/em>| Police spending on kennels and veterinary bills in England and Wales has more than tripled since the XL bully ban<\/a> came into force, with some forces recording an almost 500% spending increase since 2024.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In depth: \u2018On a spreadsheet, the cuts might look like a win. But it\u2019s been a disaster\u2019<\/h2>\n
    <\/svg><\/span>Close to one-quarter of British children live in poverty.<\/span> Photograph: Gareth Fuller\/PA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Near-Dickensian<\/a> levels of poverty have returned to the UK once again \u2013 and austerity was the key driver, according to many experts. British children who grew up in this period are shorter than their European counterparts<\/a>, and poorer areas of the country have seen a resurgence in Victorian illnesses such as rickets and scurvy. On average, the programme cost Britons around six months in their life expectancy, according to one study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    On Monday, a study<\/a> by University of Oxford researchers provided a fresh insight into the nature of childhood poverty in Britain. It found a major increase in the proportion of children born after 2013 who spent at least six of their first 11 years of life in hardship after austerity cuts. Poverty became a defining factor in the formative years for this cohort, says Patrick Butler, often with disastrous consequences.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhen a child grows up in poverty, that is damaging to their development,\u201d Patrick tells me. \u201cWe know that the longer a child stays in poverty, the more damage it causes. And by damage, we\u2019re talking about health, we\u2019re talking about their education attainment, we\u2019re talking about their chance of getting a job and earning. On all those measures, we know that poverty is a kind of negative factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Long-term poverty is now a reality for almost a quarter of British children, surging from between 13 and 14% during the New Labour-era<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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    A precise causal relationship<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Austerity policies took thousands of pounds from the household budgets of many low-income families. Benefit-rate freezes, the two-child benefit limit and the bedroom tax were accompanied by further cuts to local government and health, making it hard to establish a precise causal relationship between specific policies and outcomes from the time, Patrick explains.<\/p>\n

    But the overall impact of austerity had a clear impact on the situation in the country today. While relative poverty in the UK \u2013 <\/strong>defined as a household whose income is less than 60% of the median income \u2013<\/strong> has flatlined at around 21% in recent years, there is growing evidence that the poorest families are getting poorer, he says. In January, research by<\/a> the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that about 6.8 million people were in deep poverty, the highest level since records began.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe\u2019re talking about really severe poverty where children are probably not getting enough to eat, their parents struggling to feed them or clothe them properly. When people talk about Dickensian levels of poverty, that\u2019s the kind of thing we are talking about. Material poverty is a distinct factor with modern poverty,\u201d says Patrick.<\/p>\n

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    \u2018They\u2019ve made a start\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Since Labour returned to power, the government has taken some measures to tackle childhood poverty in the UK. This month, the two-child limit on child benefit was removed, providing an instant boost for some poor households. Almost half a million children<\/a> will be lifted out of poverty by the measure by the end of the decade. Universal credit has also been given an above-inflation increase.<\/p>\n

    But they could go further, says Patrick, pointing out that some austerity-era policies are still in place. \u201cThey\u2019ve made a start. You could argue that they were a bit tardy about it. Some parts of the Labour<\/a> government were resistant to abolishing the two-child limit. The benefit cap and the bedroom tax are still there, although they had relatively minor impacts. So, there\u2019s still more to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    The shirker narrative<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Attitudes in the British public towards the poorest in society have softened since the austerity era. Rhetoric on the issue tends to focus on so-called \u201cshirkers\u201d and \u201cwelfare kings and queens\u201d, but Patrick says that framing rarely reflects reality, with many of parents who receive state support already being in work.<\/p>\n

    High poverty levels often lead to larger societal costs, he says, something that was not factored in by the architects of austerity. \u201cOn a spreadsheet, the cuts might look like a win. But on the other side of the ledger, it\u2019s been a disaster. You\u2019ve seen more children in care, in foster care or children\u2019s homes. Poor health has consequences for the NHS, while greater inequality is an issue on its own. That is what was so striking about this research: it was a very useful reminder about just how damaging those austerity policies were.\u201d<\/p>\n

    What else we\u2019ve been reading<\/h2>\n
    <\/svg><\/span>\u2018The cruelty of the system\u2019 \u2026 Hayley Squires and Dave Johns in I, Daniel Blake, 2016.<\/span> Photograph: Eone Films\/Allstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n