Eradicating child poverty was rightly at the forefront of Labour policy in 1997 and its pledge to end child poverty by 2020 was universally welcomed.
To mark the original 2020 deadline for ending child poverty in the UK, UNISON is proud to have produced a collection of essays by leading researchers and policy leads on where we are now and what we need to do next to help eradicate child poverty in the UK.
View the collection of essays here
UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “Child Poverty is a blight on our wealthy nation – it affects the life chances of the very foundation of our society.
“At this time more than any in recent history we see the vital need to address inequality of all kinds so we can all weather the shocks and trials thrown at us on an equal footing.
“UNISON is proud to have produced this timely booklet looking at what still needs to be done in this vital area.”
The most recent statistics show that there were 4.1 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2017-18. That’s 30 per cent of children, or nine in a classroom of 30.
The last Labour government cut child poverty on a scale and at a pace unmatched by other industrial nations during the period 1998–2010.
But those gains now seem hopelessly off track in the face of the Conservative led coalition government abandoning the Child Poverty Act soon after entering office, and then spending ten years pursuing an austerity agenda which has consistently impacted children.