“This Labour government does not have the luxury of time to prove itself. There is an urgent need for policies that will make a significant difference to people’s lives.”
By Margaret Greenwood
Keir Starmer’s speech on the steps of 10 Downing Street on 5th July was both sobering and encouraging. Encouraging because of his clear commitment to public service and to improving people’s lives, including a notable mention of working-class families, and sobering because he set a measured tone to manage expectations.
The Labour manifesto talks of a ‘mission-driven government focusing on ambitious, measurable, long-term objectives.’ But we have numerous pressing crises right now that cannot wait for the long-term. Top of that list is poverty, including breath-taking levels of child poverty.
In April, the Tory government estimated that 4.3 million children, or 30% of all children in the UK, were living in relative low-income households after housing costs in 2022-23, an increase on the previous year.
So, while it will take time to address the damage done by 14 years of Tory government, tackling poverty cannot wait – firstly, and most importantly, because of the devastating impact it has on individuals and wider society, and secondly because of the changed political landscape.
Labour’s victory at the general election was phenomenal, and nothing can take that away from Keir Starmer. However, his strategists will be all too aware of the underlying picture, and they will know that there is no room for complacency.
Labour secured 34% of the vote at this election, up just under two percentage points from 32.2% in 2019, but down significantly from the 40% that Labour secured in 2017. Meanwhile, Reform secured 4 million votes, 14% of the vote. So, while we celebrate an outstanding result, it is important to reflect on the detail and understand that this newly elected Labour government does not have the luxury of time to prove itself. There is an urgent need for policies that will make a significant difference to people’s lives right now.
Keir Starmer is going to have to accelerate his plans and ensure that the change that people need to see in their lives becomes apparent much more quickly than his building brick by brick approach would suggest.
He has the opportunity to bring in urgent measures to address desperate levels of poverty. 30% of children in the UK are growing up in poverty – that is a devastating statistic. Endemic poverty is damaging lives, storing up problems for the future and fuelling despair; there is risk too that it will create further deep-rooted political dissatisfaction.
The introduction of free breakfast clubs in every primary school is going to make a big difference to children. He should also continue and extend the scope of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme which, during school holidays, provides activities and meals to children living in low-income households. It is the legacy of Frank Field and has been immensely beneficial to the lives of children and their parents. I know from meeting HAF providers in Wirral, however, that demand has far exceeded supply; last year providers had children coming to them who technically were not eligible, but nonetheless clearly in need.
A significant expansion of Holiday Activities and Food Programme provision to more children would give families immediate relief and signal Keir Starmer’s intention to address the impact of poverty on families while he builds the economy which he hopes will deliver jobs with better wages. He should do so immediately. He must also address poverty amongst adults. His emphasis is always on working families, but he must address the needs of pensioners and those who are unable to work too.
He should also scrap the two-child limit in means-tested benefits as a matter of urgency. Research by Dr Kitty Stewart of the LSE and Professor Ruth Patrick of the University of York shows not only the devastating implications of the two-child limit for children, but also the failure of the policy to deliver on its apparent aims of reducing births and increasing parental employment. As they aptly put it, ‘any government committed to tackling child poverty head-on must be able to stand up and condemn a policy that is explicitly designed to create hardship.’
Keir Starmer needs to take swift and decisive action on poverty and deliver immediate improvements to the lives of those who are struggling. Failure to do so would be to abandon those who need a Labour government most.
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Margaret Greenwood is a former Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, formerly the Labour MP for Wirral West. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter/X.
