After a new report reveals high child poverty rates in North East, MP Andy McDonald urges government to remove the two-child benefit cap.
A report shows child poverty in North East England. It comes from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Their report is titled “UK Poverty 2025.” It looks at poverty before the 2024 election. It suggests actions for the government.
Middlesbrough and Thornaby East have the highest rate. The Foundation estimates 43% of children live in poverty after housing costs in 2022/23. The report defines poverty as a lack of resources where people can’t meet basic needs or participate in society.
Their preferred definition is “relative poverty.” This relates to income after housing costs, meaning household income is below 60% of the average. This adjusts for family size and checks if poorer incomes are catching up.
Poverty rates differ across the UK. The North East has a 21% poverty rate, slightly lower than the UK average of 22%. The West Midlands has the highest rate at 27%. The East of England has the lowest at 18%.
About 600,000 people live in poverty in the North East. This includes twelve local authority areas. The report estimates that 14.4 million UK people lived in poverty. That’s more than one in five people in 2022/23.
The report shows a stable picture since 2021/22. Child poverty rose slightly while pensioner poverty fell slightly. Working-age adult poverty stayed the same. All groups returned to pre-pandemic levels, and average incomes recovered after coronavirus support ended.
Salaries also showed a disparity. The median earner makes 10% less in the North East compared to the national average.
Andy McDonald is the MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East. He is saddened by the high child poverty rate, believing that even one child in poverty is too much and wants to end it completely.
He says Labour inherited this challenge and launched a child poverty taskforce. It studies the cause of child poverty and believes removing the two-child benefit limit would help. This would lift 300,000 kids out of poverty and lessen poverty for 700,000 more.
Rishi Sunak visited Redcar during the election and spoke about child poverty. He defended the Conservative Party’s record, stating that jobs help parents avoid poverty, and freeports can provide quality, well-paid jobs.
McDonald opposes the two-child benefit cap, but Labour plans to keep the cap.
The Department for Work and Pensions commented that no child should live in poverty. Their taskforce seeks to give kids the best start. Their plan will raise living standards by increasing the Living Wage, uprating benefits, and helping families with Universal Credit.
