What is Let’s End Poverty – and how can you get involved?
Niall Cooper outlines the new Let’s End Poverty campaign, and how you can get involved.
If you are passionate about tackling poverty in the UK I’ve got good news for you: The overwhelming majority of the UK population agrees.
We know that’s what people care about, from firsthand experience. At Church Action on Poverty, we consistently walk with and listen to people with direct experience of poverty and who want change.
People like Gemma, who tells us: “Everyone has a right to live a certain standard of living. There shouldn’t be such a gap between rich and poor.”
And people like Stef, who recognises that: “We tend to have professionals who make decisions, then people who are affected, and there’s a lack of power. In general, the more money you have the more power you have and that doesn’t generally lead to a country that works for everybody.”
Let's End Poverty for everyone
I too want to live in a UK in which no one has to go to bed hungry and everyone has access to good food.
But beyond that, I want everyone in the UK to have the opportunities that many of us take for granted – to enjoy life in all its fullness. To achieve this we must end the scourge of poverty in what is still one of the wealthiest nations on the planet.
The Covid-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on the growing gap between rich and poor, and the cost of living crisis has widened this still further, as millions have been swept further into poverty and destitution.
You too will have your own reasons for wanting to see an end to poverty in the UK. Most people do.
Let's End Poverty together
An overwhelming majority of our neighbours think the UK’s rich-poor gap is too high.
Earlier this year, 88% of respondents in a YouGov poll said more should be done to tackle poverty in the UK. That’s almost nine in every ten people, a remarkable level of consensus, at a time when public opinion is divided on so many other issues.
Yet while the public will for action is vast and clear, national political leadership is sorely wanting. Politicians have ignored the issue of poverty for far too long.
Let's End Poverty - and let's demand action
Politicians who fail to acknowledge the need for urgent action to tackle poverty are increasingly out of step with public opinion. Anyone aspiring to be in Government should be making this a priority. Ending poverty in the UK should be a key election issue.
That’s why we’re delighted this autumn to be part of launching Let’s End Poverty.
Let's End Poverty - and let's demand action
Let’s End Poverty is bringing together a diverse movement of people who want the UK to be a place where poverty can’t keep anyone down. It’s a campaign that brings together people and communities who have either lived in poverty or witnessed its effects and who want change.
Let’s End Poverty stands for a future where poverty no longer keeps anyone down. Where everyone has enough to eat, has a good quality of life and is supported through hard times, and where places like food banks and clothes banks no longer need to be a fixture in our communities. A future where children talking about their hopes and dreams all have the same opportunity to pursue and realise those dreams.
Let's End Poverty - and be heard
The message of Let’s End Poverty is that it’s up to us to make our voices heard. It’s up to us to turn public support for action to tackle poverty into political pressure for the next Government to make this a key priority. We have to work with others to build a powerful movement that politicians of all parties can no longer ignore.
The overwhelming public will is there. Now let’s demand political resolve and a willingness to act.
Come join the winning side.
Let’s end poverty together.
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