Gordon Brown: Britain's Poverty Crisis Is a Political Choice

In the last 15 years, the number of foodbanks have rocketed from 35 to 2,600. This nationwide explosion in emergency food aid has been followed by the opening of bedding banks, hygiene banks, clothes banks, furnishing banks and baby.

As charities have replaced universal credit as the last line of defence against poverty, over the last three years have seen the creation of The Multibank, which takes a holistic view of the needs of a family and tries to offer not just a safety net, but by relieving household material poverty, a springboard for raising children out of poverty.

Today one million UK children are living in near destitution, lacking either shelter, food or basic essentials. Two million children are in homes without a washing machine, cooker or fridge and will rarely eat freshly cooked or hot food. Three million children are skipping meals and 4.5million of them are officially in poverty.

How millions have suffered as a result of a decade-and-a-half of Tory rule is laid bare by today’s poll. It shows how shameful Tory policies have systemically impoverished families and denied the malicious child poverty creation consequence of their two child only benefit rule, which has caused continued and enduring impoverishment of families with more than two children.

So it is no surprise to those of us working to combat poverty in Britain that 9% of us feel financially desperate, unable to afford essentials such as food or rent. Three million children are subject to extreme hardship such as skipping meals and parents missing rent payments.

Also causes for concern are:

• the 25% of us – more than 14million UK adults – who feel worried about their financial future and are unable to plan ahead because they can’t afford basic essentials.

• the 30% of us – about 17million – who are having to cut back on everything other than the basic necessities of life.

• the 29% of us – around 16.5million – who are just about managing to set something aside for a rainy day, knowing it means being extra careful managing the weekly budget.

So as the Giga Poll shows, people are now placing their faith in the Child Poverty Review, commissioned to their credit by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves after last year’s election.

It is soon due to report with recommendations to ease family poverty and millions of families know this is our best chance of making Britain a fairer place.