Save our children from Tory poverty
■ LAST year, a UN poverty envoy stated poverty levels in the UK were “simply not acceptable” and that our government was violating international law.
Gordon Brown is now campaigning for an end to child poverty and hopefully it will be a major target for Keir Starmer when he gets to grips with the shambles we are being left with.
Child poverty has reached record levels and makes Oliver Twist look comparatively well off. At least he had a meagre bowl of gruel to eat. Many British children go to school with empty stomachs and they represent the future of this country. Madness. Bill Cook, Teignmouth, Devon
■ We must listen to Gordon Brown and give our children hope. Voters need to back Labour and end the scandal of kids growing up in poverty, which as Brown says, is a stain on our country.
Look into the eyes of the young and it will quickly become apparent there is a crisis, depriving them not just of basic necessities such as clothes and medical care, but also hope.
They are the future of this once great nation. I remember ration books after the war but we got by. Now the Tories have deprived our country while lining the pockets of the rich. This country is divided. Vote Labour for a better future. Dave Mellor Warrington, Cheshire
■ It’s a matter of grave concern that child poverty has risen exponentially since the Tories took office. Around
4.2 million children – that’s 30% of all children in the UK – are living in low income households.
Government cuts to social security have exacerbated the problem and, consequently, reduced growth in household disposable income by half.
As one of the richest countries in Europe, it is to our great shame that there are a growing number of food banks which are necessary to assist impoverished families. Michael Smith, Chatham, Kent
■ Reading Gordon Brown’s article this morning brought me to tears. I knew things were bad but when I read the horrendous situation many are in, I was shocked.
How the self-serving Tories can get richer and richer while the poorer get poorer is not acceptable. What has happened to our country? We can’t wait for Keir Starmer to rescue Britain.
I’m 76 years old and have never known it to be so bad. Paul Hemmerdinger Swadlincote, Derbyshire
■ Growing up in the 1950s, we didn’t have much but we worked hard and my parents made sure we had a good life.
It’s now 2024 and there are children going to school without breakfast and little chance of a proper meal at home.
How can the Government think they have done a good job when so many children are going without? John Vickers, Conwy
■ I was shocked to read so many children are going without meals. The figure of almost one in three children being classed as officially in poverty is one of the most hard-hitting statistics I have ever read in this paper.
If that doesn’t make every single person eligible to vote put a cross next to their Labour candidate, then I don’t know what will.
Ken Henderson
Croydon, South London
■ Gordon Brown was correct when he said the hardships faced by millions of children were “a stain on the soul of our country”.
Child poverty should not be so prevalent in the UK and the Tories should hang their heads in shame. Stan Wilson Knaresborough, North Yorkshire