All the evidence shows voters want Labour to shift to the left — but initial signs from Andy Burnham are worrying on that front, cautions DIANE ABBOTT
THE situation facing Britain is nothing less than a social emergency. Currently, 14.5 million people are living in poverty in Britain, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s figures that were released in September.
In terms of children specifically, the latest numbers tell us that almost one in three children are living in poverty (31 per cent). Nearly half of children in lone-parent families live in poverty, compared with one in four of those in couple families.
And more people than ever will be using foodbanks this Christmas, with a recent release from the Trussell Trust reporting that “for the first time outside of the first year of the pandemic, foodbanks in the Trussell Trust network has distributed over 2.1 million food parcels in 2021-22.”
Hurricanes might have natural causes but the tragedy that follows is entirely human-made and a consequence of capitalist greed, asserts ROGER McKENZIE
We cannot refuse to abolish the unjustifiable two-child benefit cap that pushes children into poverty while finding billions of pounds for defence spending — the membership and the public expect better from Labour, writes JON TRICKETT MP
Our housing crisis isn’t an accident – it’s class war, trapping millions in poverty while landlords and billionaires profit. To solve it, we need comprehensive transformation, not mere tokenistic reform, writes BECK ROBERTSON


