Last time I referred to increase of poverty on a MN thread some wag decided to argue about the merits of different definitions of poverty. Deflection being more important than acknowledging the problem.
Gordon Brown writing in the Guardian
", 7.2 million of our fellow citizenssuffer from food insecurity, an increase of 2.5 million people since 2022. If you focus on those who face “very low food security”, the near destitute, need is up by 68% – 1.5 million more hungry people in just one year.
And there is a good reason why. Over three years, overall prices are up 20% and food prices are up 30%, but until this April benefit rates had gone up by only 13.5%. So even with this year’s uprating of 6.7%, benefits lag behind need, and ONS data shows that the most basic nutritional goods –sliced white bread and semi-skimmed milk – are up even more, by 35% and 49% respectively."
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2024/jun/11/how-britain-became-a-food-bank-nation
It's disturbing and a sign of our dysfunction that these issues don't get enough media attention during an election campaign (or ever).