Thread by @Samfr

While the Tory leadership saga continues - there are huge systemic national problems that any future PM is going to have to face. The rapid increase in poverty being one of the worst.

Thought I'd do a thread on the Joseph Rowntree report on poverty published yesterday....

Benefit caps and freezes have started to bite hard. Well over half of universal credit recipients are now in poverty.

This is particularly hitting people living by themselves, single parents and families with three or more children. The impact of the two-child benefits cap is brutal and cruel.

Sometimes people criticise relative poverty measures but this increase in poverty is leading to destitution, not just lower incomes. 20% of people in poverty (26% of kids) have low or very low food security.

That very low category means people literally can't buy enough food and are going hungry. There are 1.5m people in that category. Trussell Trust emergency food parcels have almost doubled since 2015/16

And worth noting that the levelling up narrative misses the key fact that London still has the highest poverty in the country.

Now on top of all this we have a massive increase in energy bills coming. The NICs rise. And 5.4% inflation. All of which will push many more people into destitution. It's just not acceptable in a modern democracy and a dramatic re-think of welfare provision is needed.

Full report from JRF here: jrf.org.uk/report/uk-pove…

And please consider donating to The Trussell Trust: trusselltrust.org/impossible-dec…

/Thread ends.