Half a million children ‘will be in absolute poverty within a year in the UK’
The UK is sleepwalking into a ‘tsunami’ of poverty as soaring inflation pushes families onto the breadline, Labour has said.
The shadow secretary of state for work and pensions, Jonathan Ashworth, claimed 500,000 children ‘will be pushed into absolute poverty over the next year’.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday, he said: ‘We are facing a situation where 250,000 households – many families, many pensioners – will be destitute.
‘Rather than protecting people and families at the time of this cost-of-living crisis, ministers are walking into a tsunami.’
He reiterated Labour’s calls for a windfall tax on gas and oil companies, which the party claims could fund a subsidy package reducing the average energy bill by around a third, or £600 per year.
The government opposes the plan, saying it would ‘deter investment’ into infrastructure and renewables, but has refused to rule out a similar move in future.
But ministers face calls from within their own party to provide other forms of relief, with veteran Tory MP Michael Fabricant on Monday urging Rishi Sunak to raise benefits in line with inflation.
It comes after the Bank of England’s governor warned Parliament of a ‘very big shock’ to households driven by ‘apocalyptic’ rises in global food prices.
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