The Labour Mp's Say 4 Million People Are Living In Poverty

[gollob]

What exactly does this mean like not having a mobile phone or a flat screen television. I would think if you lived in parts of Africa you would then understand what real poverty is

[ichkeria]

https://www.nourishcommunityfoodbank.org.uk/docs/The_definition_of_Poverty_in_the_UK.pdf

[Old_Geezer]

Poverty is a relative measure. I'm unsure of the actual definition but it will be along the lines of, it doesn't matter how wealthy you are, if you are less than a certain percentage of the average we'll make out that you're in poverty.

[Theland]

There is real povert, I see it.
Food banks, homelessness, temporary accommodation, it is there for anybody with eyes willing to see it.
Sadly many choose to be blind to it.

[Buenchico]

I most definitely will not deny that many people live in poverty in this country but I do sometimes question the criteria by which some authorities define 'poverty'.

For example, I read in a Kent newspaper that children were regarded as living in poverty by the local authority if they lived in a home without central heating. That seems an odd criterion to use as
(a) a child living in a baronial hall, with servants tending to roaring log fires while they tucked into roast boar would, by that measure, be seen as 'living in poverty' ; and
(b) unless you count halls of residence during my student days, I've never lived anywhere with central heating and I definitely wouldn't want to do so. (I've got a friend who pays his financial advisers large amounts of money to manage his offshore accounts, so he's obviously not short of a bob or two, but he never uses the central heating in his house).

[ToraToraTora]

the definition is "poverty" is questionable at best.

[Buenchico]

PS: I certainly saw quite a lot of child poverty during my teaching days. I remember kids eating just a portion of plain boiled rice for their lunch and an 11yo lad whose only Christmas present was a pair of gloves from Poundland.

[Cloverjo]

Buenchico, why didn’t they get free school meals?

[margarettom]

You can never completely eliminate poverty. In families where the parent/parents are drug addicts, alcoholics, suffer from mental problems etc you will probably find a degree of child poverty. In single addicts any of these conditions will mean they are unlikely to be able to work and will live with various degrees of poverty. It has to be accepted that there are inadequate people in this country who, for whatever reason, struggle to cope. Free school dinners ( in the holidays too ), food banks, homeless lodging houses help, but I don't think you can ever truly solve the problem.