British poverty and the poverty of Tory philosophy

[Charlotte Kates <ckates@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>X-Sender: ksm@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 21:12:59 -0500
>To: cscpo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Colin Cavell)
>From: Scott Marshall <scott@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: British poverty and the poverty of Tory philosophy
>
>**British poverty and the poverty of Tory philosophy**
>
>(Reprinted from the May 18, 1996 issue of the People's
>Weekly World. May be reprinted or reposted with PWW credit.
>For subscription information see below)
>
>By William Pomeroy
>
>LONDON - One of the many reasons for the continual decline
>in popular support for the British Tory government of John
>Major was glaringly exhibited in mid-April by a member of
>the Major cabinet, Social Security Secretary Peter Lilley.
>
>Lilley, a protege of arch-reactionary Margaret Thatcher,
>evoked a storm of criticism by declaring that no problem of
>poverty exists in Britain. He was replying to an inquiry by
>a coalition of 18 anti-poverty organizations as to what was
>being done by the Major government to fulfill the agreement
>to produce an anti-poverty program made by all the
>countries, including Britain, at the 1995 UN summit on
>social development held in Copenhagen.
>
>According to Lilley, the UN recommendations have nothing to
>do with Britain and "principally relate to the needs of
>underdeveloped countries, which need to harness their
>economies to achieve basic goals such as the provision of
>clean water and adequate food supplies. The U.K. [already
>has] the infrastructure and social protection systems to
>prevent poverty and maintain living standards."
>
>Said Lilley, people called poor in Britain are not really
>poor because they have clean water and food supplies are
>adequate to feed them, most have central heating, almost
>half have a car and over half have a video recorder.
>
>His statement echoed a recent communication by John Major to
>UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who had inquired
>what Britain was doing in regard to the UN declaration
>making 1996 the international year for the eradication of
>poverty.
>
>Lilley's statement proved to be ill-timed. It coincided with
>the issuing of the latest edition of "Poverty: The Facts," a
>periodic report published by the Child Poverty Action Group.
>This cited facts showing not only that poverty is a grave
>problem but that it has grown enormously since the Tories
>won power in 1979.
>
>The Child Poverty Action Group bases itself on two
>generally-accepted measurements of poverty: the number of
>people living on or below the level of government income
>support benefit, and the number with income below half
>average wages. In 1979 the proportion of the population
>below income support level was 14 percent; by 1992 it was 24
>percent (13.7 million people). In 1979 just 9 percent were
>on incomes less than half the average; by 1993 it had jumped
>to 25 percent (14.1 million). In other words, one-fourth of
>all people were living in poverty, compared with one in 7
>when Lilley's party took office. As for children, one in
>three were growing up in poverty.
>
>The director of the Yorkshire and Humberside Low Pay Unit,
>Jonathan Fry, dismissed the Lilley argument that access to
>consumer durables negates poverty. Fry pointed out that
>consumer durables held by the poor - like cars, washing
>machines or refrigerators - are invariably second-hand, "Nor
>does Lilley's narrow consumerist approach to poverty tell us
>anything about the quality of the living environment, the
>opportunities for employment or personal development, and
>the degree to which people feel any sense of control over
>their lives."
>
>Members of the Statistical Monitoring Unit at the University
>of Bristol report the findings of a Breadline Britain
>Survey: "Ten million people could not afford adequate
>housing and seven million lacked essential clothing, such as
>a warm, waterproof coat. There were approximately 2.5
>million children who were forced to go without one of the
>the things they needed, like three meals a day or toys. Five
>million people were not fed properly by today's standards,
>e.g., they could not afford two meals a day, and 6.5 million
>people could not afford household goods, like a fridge, a
>telephone or carpets."
>##30##
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