to think there is no such thing as poverty in the uk?

[spottyzebrahasthelurgy]

i mean no one is really starving to death are they?

Feed a man a fish and feed him for a day; give him a fishing rod and feed him for life (OWTTE).

The elderly who are on fixed incomes; people with mental health problems who have slipped through "the system" and fallen out of the bottom onto the streets; some single parents of young children who have been left single by bereavement or abandonment (when they were already in the lowest income bracket). These are some of the truly poor groups in our society - because they have no choice, although at least the situation of the single parents will change as their children grow up. The other two groups have no hope and few, if any, choices and resources available to them - that is real poverty. If you think there is no poverty in the UK you are leading a very sheltered life. And about the winter fuel allowance: the elderly do not choose to be old and infirm. They do not have the opportunity of getting a job and bettering their situation. They probably can't get a loan. If there is no money to buy food or to heat their house, they starve and die of hypothermia.

"Inequality has been growing for the last thirty years as governments of both stripes have chased Thatcherite economic policies - and we all know where they have taken us. A little more socialism, a little more social justice, and we'd ALL be a lot better off. A far society benefits everyone"

I completely agree edam

you forgot disabled people NBNC. We are now poor cos dh had to give up work to be a carer for me and dd. He's hoping to go back part time when dd starts school full time but we'll be like this for ever now. No pension and no savings.
Spose I'll freeze to death as an old person before I get frail and killed off in a hospital.
But many disabled people live on very little. Its incredibly hard to get a job.

No, needmorecoffee, I didn't mention disabled people, but I did say that my little list consisted of "some of the truly poor groups in our society". I've had to put my life back together and start from scratch twice and therefore have no pension. I have young children (including a pre-schooler) and a husband who is eligible for winter fuel allowance.

It does worry me not having any pension and one thing that bugs me is when dh and I turn 65 we'll still be caring for dd (hideously brain damaged) but carers allowance stops!!! Why ffs? Even if you're still a carer!

I try to resign myself to dealing with the present and not to worry about the future too much (fail miserably on that score most of the time) because experience has taught me that an awful lot can change in 5 years, never mind 10 or 20. I see your point about the carers' allowance, but maybe the system will have changed by then - for the better? Perhaps you should start a campaign for more individualised assessments?

YABU

There are some very lucky people here to live such sheltered existences. Poverty is rife in the UK. Only a small number of posters seem to have a clue!

Uk life expectancy may be 79. It may drop to 67 in some places. But in parts of Glasgow for men it is less than 54. These are not rich areas. People are dying of the diseases of poverty. Benefits/low wages might give most almost enough to fill their stomachs (cheap sausages, noodles etc), but to eat a varied, healthy diet from the food in shops in walking distance... get real.

I am sickened by the attitudes here.

By the way Scotland is part of the UK, not an aberrant "extreme example". It is just that some parts of Scotland are very poor. As are other parts of the UK.