I’ll bring back pledge to end child poverty, says Cooper

Yvette Cooper has pledged to reinstate the last Labour Government’s pledge to end child poverty within a generation. In a speech tomorrow, Cooper will say that Labour must revive the targets set under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

In 1998, Blair set a target of halving child poverty by 2020 – a target that now looks unachievable, despite absolute poverty falling from 42% to 27% during Labour’s time in power. Cooper will admonish the current Government for seemingly abandoning the 2020 target and the Child Poverty Act, pushing up absolute poverty, and plotting cuts to child tax credits.

According to The Independent, Cooper will say:

“Almost five million children will be living in absolute poverty in Britain by 2020 – higher than at any time this century.

“That should shame us as a country. And it’s disastrous for our future. Holding back so many of our children will limit our economy, divide our communities and store up social problems for the future. And it’s just wrong for so many children to be denied the best start in life.

“I want a Britain in the 2020s which is lifting children out of poverty and helping them on, not knocking them back.

“That’s why as a country we should be pledging to end child poverty in a generation. The Tories have abandoned the 2020 child poverty target and are pushing more children into hardship instead. We need a serious plan to tackle poverty pay, help parents into work, narrow inequality and support families throughout their lives.”