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The Guardian view on child poverty: Labour must advance from a bleak base | Editorial

About a third of children were living in deprivation even before this week’s benefit cuts. This appalling situation can’t go on

A record 4.5 million children in the UK were growing up in poverty in the year to April 2024, according to figures released on Thursday, which provide a chilling backdrop to the government’s newly announced benefit cuts. Staff at a Blackpool charity, Disability First, have received “terrified phone calls” as claimants struggle to understand how the disability benefit reductions in the chancellor’s spring statement will affect them.

About a third of children live in deprivation. Those with lone parents, or two or more siblings, or in families where someone is disabled are overrepresented among the poorest households. This is hardship of a scale and severity that can be hard to comprehend for those who have not experienced or seen it. Recent research from the Trades Union Congress revealed that 17% of workers surveyed had skipped a meal to save money over a three-month period. As well as shortages of food, the poorest families face problems with housing and essentials such as clothing, toiletries and furniture. Headteachers have reported pupils being exhausted due to lack of sleep, and distressed by feelings of shame, among poverty’s detrimental effects.

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