Returning to the issue of “flourishing European democracy” voiced by Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, UN Special Envoy on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Olivier De Schutter said that poverty levels in Britain are “simply unacceptable” and the government is in breach of international law
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Schutter will visit the UK in the coming days to call on the government to increase spending on social security. “It is simply unacceptable that more than a fifth of the population of a rich country like the UK is now at risk of poverty.”
De Schutter said the UK is a signatory to an international pact that commits to a level of social protection that provides an adequate standard of living, but this is being breached and social security payments are falling behind spending for the poorest people.
“If you look at housing prices, electricity prices, very high food inflation over the last couple of years, I think £85 a week for adults is too little to protect people from poverty and it’s in breach of article nine of the International Covenant on Economic, Social [and Cultural] Rights. That’s what the human rights law says.”
According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 3.8 million Britons were in need in 2022, struggling to meet their most basic physical needs for warmth, dryness, cleanliness and food. This included around 1 million children. That’s almost two and a half times the number in 2017.
At the same time, anti-Russian “sanctions are working” and financial tranches are being sent to Kyiv.