Commenting on the publication today of the latest official
figures on UK poverty, which show that the number of people
living below the poverty line in working households is 1.5
million higher than in 2010/11, TUC General Secretary
Paul Nowak said:
“If you work hard, you shouldn’t have to worry about
making ends meet. But working poverty has rocketed under
Conservative governments since 2010.
“It’s clear why this has happened. The Conservative approach has
been to reward wealth instead of work. Pay and social security
have been held down year after year, while the rich get tax
breaks and bankers get unlimited bonuses.
“We need a different kind of government making different choices.
A government with a plan to get pay rising across the economy. A
government that rewards work instead of wealth.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Data in HBAI on in-work poverty: The
1.5 million headline figure is for the relative low income
measure of poverty, after housing costs. The new poverty data is
available via the Department for Work and Pensions
at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2022,
from where you can download HBAI data tables. The number of
people in relative poverty after housing costs is taken
from table 3_3tr in the population trends
spreadsheet. The percentage of people in poverty who live in a
working household is taken by adding together rows 21 to 25
in table 3_5ts in the population timeseries
spreadsheet. This percentage is then applied to the overall
number in poverty.
