Patrick Hurley MP for Southport comment on child poverty

I am deeply committed to working with the Labour government to address child poverty and improve the life chances of children living in poverty. The last Labour government took over half a million children out of poverty – and lifted millions of children out of absolute poverty overall. In contrast, under the Conservatives, the number of children in poverty has risen by 700,000 – with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family.

We’ll be turning the tables on this, but it will take time.
The Attlee government took three years to create the NHS, and four years to create NATO. Some of the Wilson government’s main achievements were passed into law so late that they only took effect after they’d left government. And the Minimum Wage didn’t come into place until April 1999, two years after Labour last entered government.

Similarly, it’s going to take us time to fix the foundations of our country’s wrecked economy before we can do all the things we want to do. While it’s right to have high expectations of a new government after the dreadful mess of the last 14 years, it’s still the case that last week’s King’s Speech was the most ambitious in terms of legislation for 20 years. And all this despite the worst economic inheritance for a new government in the post-second world war era.

I am glad to see the ambitious child poverty strategy that Labour has committed to, as well as the series of concrete and significant actions in our manifesto to support children and families. These include free breakfast clubs in every primary school, expanding government-funded childcare, cutting school uniform costs, placing Young Futures hubs in every community, renters reform to give families security and delivering our Child Health Action Plan.

This government has a Mission to create and spread opportunity for every child and young person in our country. Living in poverty scars children’s lives and their futures, this Labour government will bring the change our children need.