Luton North MP presses need to tackle child poverty for good

Urgent action is needed to tackle child poverty after 14 years of ineffective and counter-productive policy, newly re-elected Luton North MP Sarah Owen told the Prime Minister yesterday.

Intervening during the debate on the first King’s Speech of the new Labour government, Owen highlighted that 45% of children in Luton are growing up in relative poverty, and sought assurances that the Prime Minister ‘personally’ takes the issue seriously.

Poverty statistics released before the General Election also showed that 100,000 children across the country fell into relative poverty in the year to April 2023. More than two thirds of children growing up in poverty are in working families.

The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, indicated his commitment to action after 14 years of failure. He announced the establishment of a new child poverty strategy taskforce, and highlighted the achievements of the last Labour government in bringing child poverty down.

From 1997 to 2010, the number of children in absolute poverty fell by two million. Since 2010, that number has been increasing, and now 4.3million children are living in poverty.

Speaking after her intervention, Owen said:

“For 14 years, the issue of child poverty has not been taken seriously. Tory mismanagement and counter-productive policies have held back economic development, stagnated wages and sent the cost of living through the roof. Families have been left to pay the price.

“I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment turning the page and even in these early stages of the new government it was great to see hope and renewal in the King’s Speech yesterday. It is clear that through the child poverty taskforce announced yesterday, the new government recognises the scale of the problem that needs addressing at root and we need it to act.

“Far too many children in Luton North are growing up in poverty. I will continue to advocate for them and work with the government in working to achieve the change we need.”