Child Poverty has become ‘normal’ claims Oldham MP

Mr McMahon has called on the Government to bring an end to child poverty

Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has called for action from the government to reduce and remove Child Poverty immediately following new figures released by End Child Poverty and Greater Manchester Poverty Action.

According to new figures released by End Child Poverty, around one in three children in Greater Manchester live below the poverty line.

In Manchester the figures have our region as one of the highest for Child Poverty, with around 40% of children living in poverty while in Oldham, Werneth and Coldhurst have been identified as areas with the highest levels of Child Poverty

Jim McMahon said, “I want every child in Oldham to have equal opportunity to succeed, and the fact that government policy is to decrease these opportunities to excel and limit our children to what they have always known deeply troubles me.”

Adding “Child Poverty seems to be becoming the norm in our society. A total of 14 million people in the UK were in poverty in 2017/18. This includes 4.1 million children. This must change, our children deserve better than this.”

Anna Feuchtwang, Chair of the End Child Poverty coalition, said: ‘The Government’s own data shows that child poverty in the UK has been rising steadily in recent years.    This just isn’t right.’

‘Growing up in poverty means growing up trapped. It restricts a child’s chances of doing well at school, of living a healthy and happy life, and of finding well paid work as adults. We urgently need Government to set a course of action that will free our children from the grip of poverty.’

When talking about how to tackle the crisis, Jim said “We need ambitious and credible alternatives for both reducing and then eradicating Child Poverty in Oldham, Manchester and the UK.

Labour will reverse the cuts and investing in children’s services such as mental health, education, childcare and social care. We will invest in our future and create a new Child Poverty Strategy to eradicate the problem.”

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.