Children tell you truths that adults shy away from. But sometimes those truths can be heartbreaking. That is how the manager of one of our children’s centres in Thanet felt when she found one of her five year old charges stuffing free breakfast items into his pockets.
When she asked him why and tried to reassure him he could eat them there and then, he told her he was taking them home for his mum, as she often didn’t eat.
Child poverty is at a shocking new high. The number of children in the UK living in absolute poverty before the cost of housing is taken into account is now 18%. That means they and their families can’t afford the basics. This is a reality in Thanet, as the example from the children’s centre demonstrates, but I’m afraid we have a Conservative MP that denies this is a problem and a Conservative government that has contributed to it.
When the data came out almost a year ago showing that 23% of children in Thanet were living in relative poverty, Craig Mackinlay questioned whether it was serious, saying there was no “destitution”. I would suggest this is a man who prefers to split hairs than address a problem. With children hoarding food to give to their starving parents we know the reality behind the statistics. Absolute poverty – perhaps the nearest we have for Craig Mackinlay’s “destitution” – means a family doesn’t have enough income to afford necessities. We all know what it’s like as prices and costs rise, but if your income doesn’t stretch to meet the basics, that is absolute poverty. It’s a moral outrage that families experience this in one of the largest economies in the world. It’s even worse that this is increasing, and that 70% of those children are in households where adults are in work.
This doesn’t happen by accident. Since 2010 the Conservatives have deliberately chosen to make life harder for people on low pay, with children, with disabilities and with fixed incomes. Then the Tories blew a £30bn hole in the economy with Liz Truss’ mini budget, pushing up mortgage rates and rents on top of spiralling energy and food bills fuelled by inflation. With fewer protections at work, wages squeezed for years and then rising costs, more and more people are finding there is too much month left at the end of the money. Taxes are set to hit their highest rate for 70 years, with working people paying more and getting less.
When things are this tough, it would be understandable if people tightened their belts and overlooked those worse off than themselves. But here in Thanet the spirit and goodwill of people to help others is extraordinary: we see that in the initiatives that have developed over the years to meet the needs of people really struggling. It is a damning indictment that one of our food banks is more than ten years old, while the two run by churches in Broadstairs and Cliftonville handed out nearly a thousand food parcels just this last month. There should be dignity for all, not the need to ask for handouts. That is what the welfare state was built for, ensuring we make work pay and support those properly who can’t work. Children shouldn’t be hoarding food for their parents, anymore than parents should be going without food to keep their children fed.
The first people who suffer with the kind of instability we have seen are the poorest and working people. That is why a Labour government will establish economic stability, grow the economy to make working people better off, and bring security back to family finances. Never again will we allow a repeat of the devastation of Liz Truss and the Conservatives’ mini-budget that crashed the economy and left working people worse off. We will keep energy bills low by investing in home-grown cheaper cleaner energy, and increase the chances of people to have a home they can afford to rent or buy, because cheaper bills and owning your own home are the foundations of security. And we will make work pay, delivering a real living wage, because creating well-paid jobs across all parts of the country, including Thanet, will make working people better off. When Labour was last in government we reduced child poverty, by establishing Sure Start and supporting working parents. We will do it again.
As your MP, if I am elected, I will fight for economic security for those who need it. I am clear that though our food banks are a demonstration of our kindness and generosity, a welfare state we can rely on will be a source of greater pride. We as a nation should provide the support to ensure no child should ever have to go hungry or fear their parents are either.
