Macclesfield has one of the lowest child poverty levels in the North West. Is that something to celebrate? I don’t think so. We still have over 17%, that’s over 3,000 children living in poverty in our area.
I, and the Green Party, believe that we should work towards a more fair, more equal society, and this starts with our young people.
If you live in poverty as a child, this can, and often will, have a life-long impact: your exam results are likely to be poorer than your classmates; on average your health will be worse; and your employment prospects will be lower. And so the cycle of deprivation continues, from one generation to the next. The impact is greatest on young white males – those from households in poverty are at least 3 times less likely than average to go to university.
Across the UK, we have over 4 million children living in poverty, so it was disappointing that the new government rejected the opportunity to alleviate any of this suffering when they had the chance by refusing to lift the 2-child benefit cap which can cost families over £3,000. The cost of this was estimated at £3.4bn – around 3% of the benefits budget (which could have been recouped by equalising the capital gains tax rate with income tax rates). Disappointingly, our new MP, who at the hustings said he agreed with lifting this cap, voted with his party.
Removing the 2-child benefit cap is not enough, but it would be a start. We in the Green Party want to end child poverty and call on the government to think again. If you’d like to find out more about us and our policies, or just want to know where I sourced the data for this article, then do get in touch: welcome@cheshireeast.greenparty.org.uk