UN says British government in ‘state of denial’ on poverty, and how Brexit could make things worse

UN poverty and human rights rapporteur Philip Alston said the impact of Brexit on the poor was being treated as an ‘afterthought’

Child poverty rates in Britain could already be as high as 40 per cent, Alston said in a report

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Dawn, a homeless woman from north Wales, sits huddled under a sleeping bag next to her dog Casper in a shopping arcade near the Victoria rail station in central London in this file photo. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:49am, 17 Nov 2018Updated: 7:32am, 17 Nov 2018

The United Nations accused the British government Friday of being in a “state of denial” about a growing rich-poor divide that would be exacerbated by Brexit.

UN poverty and human rights rapporteur Philip Alston’s 12-day fact-finding mission to Britain uncovered a “dramatic decline in the fortunes of the least well off”.

A homeless man next to his bicycle loaded with possessions on Pall Mall in London. Photo: Reuters

His report unveiled Friday concluded that child poverty rates in Britain could be as high as 40 per cent.

Alston said one in five Britons was living below the poverty line as defined by the British government – and that 90 per cent of single poor parents were women.

[Britain’s poverty situation is] grim and it’s clearly unnecessary

Philip Alston, UN poverty and human rights rapporteur

“It’s grim and it’s clearly unnecessary,” Alston said. “The money is there. The government decided recently to spend a windfall amount on more tax cuts for the wealthy.