The scandal of poverty in the rich UK

The scandal of poverty in the rich UK I honestly wonder how our politicians and business leaders can sleep at night when they look at what they have done to the most vulnerable people in our country. Of course our business leaders will say if you work hard you get rewarded but that’s just not what’s happening in our country. In fact, it was a former Tory leader, David Cameron, who echoed the words you can tell how civilised a country is by how it treats its most vulnerable people. So, in 2019 one of the richest countries in the world has levels of poverty not seen since the Victorian era with children bearing the brunt of it. The price of poverty is also poor mental and physical health with early deaths on the rise. In the North East, the rate of poverty has risen to 25 per cent. Just think of that, one in four people living in this area does not have enough money to provide even their most basic needs. Waiting five weeks while your Universal Credit come through leads people to rely on food banks and no doubt drives some to suicide. It’s a national scandal. Even though a number of independent national and international reports bear these dismal facts out, our government is in complete denial. While they’re busy fiddling while Rome burns with their party is disarray, another child will go to bed hungry tonight, another parent will have to decide between heating and eating. While they’re busy telling us that the number of people in work has gone up, they’re not telling us about the nature of those jobs; low paid work with poor working conditions. While they’re busy throwing any scandal they can lay their hands on at the opposition in an effort to make it unelectable, they’re glossing over their own complete contempt for the people they are supposed to be serving. Just to remind them, their job is to serve everyone who lives in our country, not just their already privileged friends. Here in Northumberland we’ve seen so many cruel and heartless cuts by the Tory-run council that you can’t help but believe that they’re no better than their national counterparts. Yes, and while people are down why not kick them even further by removing council tax subsidies and increasing care charges. Here’s what you can believe. Plunging people into poverty is a political choice. There is enough money in this county and country to provide everyone with a decent standard of living. We will never reverse the scandal of poverty with the current government. Where you put your cross on the ballot paper matters.