How bad is the British government's self-inflicted austerity? In addition to murdering 120,000 people, it has driven 20% of the population into poverty:
Britain’s record on tackling poverty has reached a turning point and is at risk of unravelling, following the first sustained rises in child and pensioner poverty for two decades, a major report has warned.
Nearly 400,000 more children and 300,000 more pensioners are now living in poverty than five years ago, during which time there have been continued increases in poverty across both age groups – prompting experts to warn that hard-fought progress towards tackling destitution is “in peril”.
The report, by the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), shows that a total of 14 million people in the UK currently live in poverty – more than one in five of the population. While poverty levels fell in the years to 2011-12, changes to welfare policy – especially since the 2015 Budget – have seen the numbers creep up again.
The basic function of government is to take care of its people. By any measure, the British government has failed at this. And with their attention focused on Brexit and its related infighting, they're just not going to bother fixing this any time soon, or ease the horrific impact of Brexit on their victims.
