ES Views Letter of the Day: It’s time we properly addressed poverty

The Government mis-spends £78 billion every year dealing with the symptoms of poverty: educational failure, bad health, drug abuse and crime. In this period of post-election posturing the issue of poverty must not be kicked into the long grass.

The good news is that Theresa May, along with every other major party leader, supports a poverty prevention strategy. She knows that poverty isn’t inevitable but is both conquerable and, indeed, preventable.

Mrs May has called for certainty after the election result but this is a moment she should seize. It is her chance to demonstrate her commitment to tackling poverty. It is an opportunity to make it a central plank of her renewed strategy and put it at the heart of the Queen’s speech.

This big issue rightly commands cross-party consensus. When the new parliament sits, I will be seeking to form a poverty prevention alliance to keep it centre-stage and I will also be looking to Downing Street.

The Prime Minister says she wants to get to work. So do I.
Lord Bird, House of Lords (crossbench)

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