Rochdale’s MP, Tony Lloyd, delivered a hard-hitting speech in the House of Commons this week, highlighting shocking figures which show that Rochdale has one of the highest numbers of children living in poverty in the UK.
Tony said, “In the Rochdale constituency, no ward has less than 1 in 5 children living in poverty.
Some of the wards have over half of children living in poverty, and the bulk of those have parents who are working. That is a scandal. We have seen child poverty growing over the years, as austerity has begun to bite.
I raised this with Ministers, who made the ludicrous claim that work always pays and keeps people out of poverty. It doesn’t.
The sad thing is, the Conservative Government appears to be oblivious to this, or seems uncaring.
Universal Credit claims, whether those in work or those who are not able to work, will see a massive £20 cut from that benefit in September.
This is a bitter blow for those families and those children, because we know that poverty leads to ill health, and it leads to less adequate education. Yet there is nothing in the Queen’s Speech that addresses these concerns. That is why I am calling on the government to present a clear strategy to deal with child poverty.”
