Prime Minister Keir Starmer writes for The Mirror as he launches the government’s child poverty strategy first promised in the summer after Labour’s election landslide
Every child in Britain should have a fair start in life. It’s a fundamental British value. Kids should go as far as their talent takes them, rather than be held back by background or circumstances.
We say it to our own children, don’t we? “Work hard and you can achieve anything”. But when too many of our children grow up in poverty, those words don’t always ring true. That’s why I am proud that our child poverty strategy will lift over half a million kids out of poverty. This is Labour’s ultimate cause – our moral mission. We tackled it under the last Labour Government. And my Government will do the same.
Because the situation left to us by the Tories is an absolute disgrace. Under their watch an extra 900,000 children were left to grow up in poverty. How can that be fair? Think about the human cost. Think about the skipped meals. The cold bedrooms. The school uniform that’s too small or worn through. Should any of this really be happening in a country like ours? The answer is straightforward. No.
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That’s why Labour has expanded free school meals to half a million hungry children. We’re cracking down on baby-formula prices that rip parents off. And we’ve scrapped the two-child benefit limit. A measure that, on its own, lifts 450,000 children out of poverty.
But there is more. Because as well as poverty rising under the Tories, it also changed. Even now, some politicians think poverty only happens for people out of work. But that’s simply not true in Britain today. Now, three quarters of children who grow up in poverty come from a working family. Families that are doing the right thing. Working harder and harder. Yet simply find their wages aren’t enough to make ends meet.
I know what this is like. Growing up, I remember sitting round the kitchen table with my family. Looking through the bills. This was the 1970s, so prices were high then too. And the truth is we couldn’t afford them all. That’s why our phone was cut off. There were no mobile phones back then either!
Everything I do on child poverty should be seen in this light. It’s why Labour has expanded free childcare, cutting costs for hundreds of thousands of working parents. It’s why we’re rolling out free breakfast clubs at schools across the country. It’s why, at the budget, we cut your energy bill by £150 – £300 for poorer households. And it’s why we’re also raising the minimum wage again next April. Because carers, cleaners, shopworkers and more, deserve a fair pay rise.
That’s fair for working people. It’s fair for our children. But it’s also fair for Britain’s future. Because tackling poverty is also a sound economic investment. Evidence shows it makes kids more likely to get a good job or training place. And it also helps relieve the pressure on our NHS.
I was told this by nurses at a hospital, recently. They told me how many kids come through their doors, with issues to do with poverty. That should not be happening in Britain today. And so Labour will not stand for it. People will tell you politics doesn’t make a difference. But the difference on child poverty could not be clearer. Tory Governments let it rise. Labour Governments cut it. And make sure our children have the fair start in life they deserve.