Labour’s Child Poverty Strategy marks a step forward. I welcome it because its sincere intention is to reduce the stress and suffering of around 550,000 children and their families. New in 2025: scrapping the two‑child limit on benefits, a duty to alert when children become homeless, ending B&B use beyond six weeks with pilots in 20 councils, and a £950m fund for 5,000 homes. Reaffirmed: free school meals and childcare support for parents on Universal Credit.
UNICEF UK called ending the two‑child limit a turning point. Barnardo’s welcomed safe housing and meals. Child Poverty Action Group said Labour must go further. All agreed that the promises only count if backed by clear targets and funding.
In Norwich, the problems are stark. Four in ten children in the poorest wards live in poverty. Men die ten years earlier in poorer areas than in affluent ones. Rents swallow nearly forty per cent of take‑home pay. One in five households lives in fuel poverty. Local groups warn national promises will not reach families here without affordable housing, insulation and regeneration. Families need decent homes, fair wages, secure work and investment in communities where deprivation runs deep.
The system itself drives hardship. Families are trapped in low pay, high rents and poor housing. Energy bills rise because markets are run for profit, not people. Food prices climb as climate change hits supply chains. Finance and big tech set the rules while the government loses power to act. Decades of privatisation have left services fragmented and run for cash. Families are left open to rip‑offs and monopolies. Taxes on wealth help, but they do not stop water bills rising while pipes leak, or energy bills stuffed with profit. The basics – water, food, energy – must be run for people, not cash.