Quarter of Londoners are living in poverty, shocking report finds
Quarter of Londoners are living in poverty, shocking report finds
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London has the third highest rate of poverty of any English region with just under a quarter of its residents living in poverty, an alarming report has found. Data from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggests that 2.2 million people, or 24% of London’s population, are currently living in poverty. The only regions with higher rates are the West Midlands, at 27 per cent, and the North West, at 25 per cent.
Although the rate in London has decreased slightly over the past year, mixed tenure and the high cost of housing remain significant drivers of poverty in the capital. Child poverty rates in London are particularly staggering, with more than one in three (34.8 per cent) meeting the criteria, according to the report.
The picture varies across the capital, but the highest rates are in Bethnal Green and Stepney, and Stratford and Bow, where around 50 per cent of children are living in poverty. Other areas with similarly high rates are West Ham and Beckton at 49 per cent, East Ham at 48 per cent, and Poplar, Limehouse, Tottenham, Hackney South and Shoreditch at 44 per cent.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, Labour Member of Parliament for Tooting, said: "These figures are devastating but frankly not surprising. My inbox and surgeries are full of people struggling with the cost of living, unable to put enough food on their tables, and living in mould-infested, overcrowded homes.
