Reeves’ growth drive rubbished by charity as report exposes scale of UK poverty The chancellor says growing the economy is Labour’s main priority, but the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says economic growth alone won’t pull millions out of poverty.
“However, economic growth on its own won’t reduce poverty, and it is deeply unjust to force families to wait for economic growth before they feel their situation improve, especially given the picture of deepening poverty,” he said.
It said the government must also pursue specifically targeted policies to make a meaningful change, arguing that even strong growth won’t be able to alleviate rising child poverty.
An influential anti-poverty charity has rubbished claims by Rachel Reeves that her growth agenda will drive up living standards in the UK as it pushes the government to strengthen Universal Credit instead of chipping away at benefits.
The charity’s damning report said that more than 1 in 5 people in the UK were living in poverty in 2022/23 – around 14.3 million people.
