Tag: poverty

Report: Universal Credit Is Riddled With Issues, but Have Some Flaws Been Deliberately Designed Into the System?
Universal credit has proved so unfit for purpose that Labour has said it will replace it entirely if elected next month. But perhaps the most controversial element of the policy is mounting evidence that suggests some of its cruellest flaws aren't accidental failings; the Tories may have deliberately built them in to the system to deter claimants.
Why Is It so Expensive to Be Poor?

Utilities, tax, rent and work – charging people for poverty is an industry worth billions.
Homelessness Activists Occupy Tunnel, After MPs Ask for Gate to Stop Rough Sleepers
Over 320,000 people are homeless in Britain - up 169% since the Conservatives came to power. Yet 'hostile architecture' that keeps rough sleepers out of public spaces is on the rise. As the weather turns cold, a gate has just been installed in a Westminster underpass to lock homeless people out at night - allegedly after MPs complained about having to walk past them.
Universal Credit: Charity Food Banks Forced to Compensate for Failing Benefits System
With charity food banks forced to expand into the space left behind by a shrinking welfare state, we spoke to three women who rely on them.
Damp, Mould and Dying of Cold: Fuel Poverty in Austerity Britain
Every winter in Britain - come snow, storms and sub-zero temperatures - millions of low-income individuals and families are affected by fuel poverty. Meanwhile, little is done to curb the cartel-like behaviour of the ‘big six’ energy companies.
The Bitter Fruit of Andalucia

Visible from space, the vast concentration of plastic greenhouses in Almeria supply more than half of Europe’s fruit and vegetables. An economic boom in this previously poor region of Andalucia has come at the expense of the African migrants who work in these greenhouses, under slave-like conditions. Approximately 200 workers live there during peak season. […]

God’s Own Country For Tories
As Cameron steps aside, where better to examine his legacy than in his own constituency in Oxfordshire where county council cuts have destroyed vital public services, putting hundreds of people at risk.
Rebranding Poverty: Why a living wage isn’t enough
George Osborne seemingly outmanoeuvred the mainstream left when his last budget championed a ‘national living wage’ to be introduced next year - yet it won't extend to all workers, and erosions to welfare mean you won't be able to live on it.
Just World Hypothesis and the Perpetuation of Victim-Blaming
Victim-blaming is rife in today’s world, but why? And why do we often end up internalising the narratives that blame us? A contributing factor might be one that grounds capitalist individualism: Just World Hypothesis.
I’m about to be a new Dad and my child will live in poverty.
Rents are rising and wages falling. Even for those with median incomes, private rent costs are pushing people further into poverty.