In a stark indictment of decades of institutional racism, ableism, and classism by governments, the Social Metrics Commission (SMC) 2024 report has laid bare the deepening poverty crisis in the UK.
Despite numerous promises from successive governments, the poverty rate in 2022/23 has climbed to 24% – the highest recorded this century. This equates to 16 million people, including 5.2 million children, living in poverty.
These figures underscore a national failure to address structural issues within capitalism that perpetuate inequality and deprivation.
However, it also shows institutional neglect and persecution by governments of chronically ill and disabled people, Black and brown people, and those living in social housing. Because it it those groups which have been some of the hardest hit. Yet the limited corporate media coverage – namely by the Guardian – of the Social Metrics Commission report failed to recognise this.
Disabled people once again hit hardest by poverty
Over the last two decades, poverty in the UK has stubbornly hovered above 21%, and the recent surge to 24% reveals a worsening crisis. This means an additional 2.4 million people now live in poverty compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The situation is even more dire for children, with over one-third (36%) living in poverty, a 5% increase since 2019/20.
However, disabled people and their families bear the brunt of this crisis. The report reveals that 8.7 million people in poverty are disabled or live with someone who is. This demographic now accounts for a staggering 54% of all those in poverty. This is up from 6.9 million in 2019/20 – representing a 26% increase.
Meanwhile, poverty rates for working-age adults have risen to 23%, and pensioners, traditionally more shielded, are not immune: 13% of pension-age adults are now impoverished.
Black and brown people thrown under the bus
The Social Metrics Commission’s 2024 report highlights severe and disproportionate levels of poverty faced by Black, Brown, and dual heritage communities in the UK. The data reveals that institutional and systemic racism has entrenched poverty within these groups, despite the overall wealth of the nation.
Among families where the head of the household identifies as Black, African, Caribbean, or Black British, a staggering 42% live in poverty. This is more than double the rate for families with a white head of household, where the poverty rate stands at 20%.
Similarly, Asian or Asian British households face a 38% poverty rate, while families from mixed or multiple ethnic groups report a 29% rate. These disparities underline deep systemic failures to address income inequality and access to resources.
Notably, families led by individuals from “other ethnic groups” experience the highest poverty rate, at 43%. This statistic encapsulates the experiences of various minority groups, further emphasizing the challenges they face in accessing economic stability.
Poverty among minority groups has been a persistent issue. While poverty rates for White-headed households have remained stable at around 20% since 2014/15, minority groups have consistently recorded significantly higher rates. For example, Black households saw a slight increase from 40% in 2021/22 to 42% in 2022/23, while Asian households experienced a rise from 36% to 38% over the same period.
A tale of two nations
The geographical distribution of poverty is a damning reflection of systemic neglect. In London and the West Midlands, poverty rates stand at 27%, contrasting sharply with the 17% rate in the East of England. Wales has the highest poverty rate among the UK nations at 24%, with Northern Ireland and Scotland faring slightly better at 21%.
Children remain the most vulnerable across all regions, with 43% of children in the West Midlands and 42% in the North West living in poverty. Such disparities highlight the failure of national strategies to address regional inequality effectively.
The narrative that employment is a guaranteed escape from poverty is increasingly debunked. While the poverty rate among families with full-time workers has remained steady at 9%, part-time workers face a poverty rate of 58%. Alarmingly, 75% of individuals in workless families live in poverty, a seven-percentage-point increase since 2019/20.
This shift also highlights a disturbing trend: 62% of people in poverty now live in families where at least one member works. This figure exposes the inadequacy of wages and the rising cost of living, particularly in housing and childcare.
Deep poverty and persistent challenges
While overall poverty rates have risen, there is a slight reprieve in deep poverty – defined as those living on less than 50% of the poverty line. The number of individuals in deep poverty decreased marginally by 100,000 since the pandemic. Yet, deep poverty levels remain alarmingly high, with 4.1 million people enduring this severe deprivation.
Persistent poverty, another crucial metric, has risen slightly to affect 57% of those in poverty. This means a majority face prolonged struggles, making upward mobility nearly impossible without significant policy intervention.
While the data paints a grim picture, individual experiences reveal the human cost of governmental failure.
A disabled single mother shared her harrowing account of juggling part-time work while relying on food banks to feed her children. Despite her efforts, she remains trapped in poverty due to soaring rent and childcare costs.
Her story is emblematic of a broader issue: the inability of social safety nets to adapt to the realities of modern life. Inadequate disability support and childcare subsidies have left millions in a cycle of dependency and despair.
Housing, education, and social isolation
Housing remains a significant determinant of poverty. The report finds that 68% of people in poverty live in either social or private-rented accommodations. Poverty rates for these groups are markedly higher, with 56% in social housing and 38% in private rentals affected.
The data also reveal a worrying trend: the proportion of people in poverty living in privately rented homes has doubled since 2000/01, from 15% to 31%. This shift reflects both rising rental costs and the failure of successive governments to address the housing crisis.
The cascading effects of poverty extend beyond finances. Educationally, families in poverty are more likely to lack formal qualifications, with 16% of impoverished households reporting no qualifications compared to 5% of non-impoverished families. Health outcomes are similarly bleak, as families in poverty report higher rates of poor mental health (33%) and smoking (35%).
Social isolation compounds these challenges. Nearly half (45%) of people in poverty live in single-adult households, compared to 29% of those not in poverty. Additionally, 62% of impoverished families lack organisational memberships, highlighting reduced access to communal support networks.
Government responses show institutional failure
The SMC’s findings underscore the chronic failure of successive governments to implement effective poverty reduction strategies. Promises to “level up” and invest in the nation’s most vulnerable have repeatedly fallen short. The persistence of poverty rates above 21% for two decades reveals a systemic unwillingness to tackle the root causes of inequality.
The report even lauds the potential of the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) ‘Below Average Resources’ measure to provide more accurate poverty statistics. However, accurate measurement alone is insufficient without decisive action. The absence of comprehensive childcare reforms, adequate disability benefits, and living wages reflects a lack of political will to address poverty’s structural causes.
To reverse these trends, bold policy interventions are essential. Expanding social housing, reforming Universal Credit, scrapping the two-child benefit cap, uprating disabled people’s benefits, and implementing a robust real living wage are critical first steps.
Additionally, targeted support for disabled individuals and single-parent families could alleviate the disproportionate burden borne by these groups.
A damning report on poverty
The Social Metrics Commission’s 2024 report serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing poverty crisis in the UK. Despite years of rhetoric, the failure of successive governments to address structural inequality has left millions trapped in poverty.
The cost-of-living crisis, coupled with inadequate policy responses and capitalism’s in-built inequality and racism have exacerbated vulnerabilities, particularly for children, disabled people, Black and brown people, and renters.
Without immediate and transformative action, the UK risks cementing a legacy of neglect and inequality. The statistics demand more than acknowledgment – they demand change. Until then, the poorest in society and those that are systemically marginalised will continue to pay the price for political inaction and capitalism’s failures.
Featured image via the Canary
