The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has done some research on Poverty in the UK. It says that poverty in the UK is getting really bad. Even though the official numbers on poverty do not seem to be getting worse, the number of people who are living in poverty that’s very severe has gone up to a level that is the highest it has been in more than thirty years.
A lot of families are having a hard time paying for the basic things they need, like food to eat, heating to keep warm and electricity to light their homes. This article is about the rise of poverty, what has gone wrong with the policies, and how Britain’s UK welfare system and labor systems are not doing enough to help people in poverty.
Deep poverty behind stable statistics in Poverty in the UK
When you look at poverty in Britain, at first it seems like nothing has changed. The government says that the number of people who are poor is about the same. This is not the whole story. Recent research shows that around 6.8 million people are now living in very deep poverty, which is the highest level seen in more than thirty years.
What is really happening is that more and more people are living far below the poverty line. Many families are going through tough times for a long time, not just for a short period.
Poverty in the UK is a problem because people are very poor, not just because there are many people below the poverty line. People are stuck in difficult situations, and even small problems, like a high energy bill or a missed paycheck, can cause serious trouble.
Inability to meet basic needs
People who are really struggling with money have to make choices every day. Families have to decide if they want to heat their homes or buy food to eat. A lot of people need to use food banks all the time, not just when they’re in a tight spot.
The cost of energy is still very high. This is really hard on people who do not have a lot of money. Being poor in the UK means you are never really sure if you will be okay, you are always living on the edge and just trying to get by. Poverty in the UK is a serious problem, and people have to live with constant worry.
Housing costs as a poverty driver
Housing is a problem that makes people poorer. In a lot of cities, the cost of rent has gone up faster than what people earn. For people who do not have a lot of money, housing costs can take up than half of the money they get every month.
Official rental data shows that private renters in England spent around 36.3% of their income on housing costs in 2024, with even higher shares in major cities like London, highlighting how rising rents squeeze budgets for low-income households.
There are no homes for people who need them, and a lot of people are waiting for a long time to get a place to live. People who rent from owners have to deal with contracts that only last for a short time and rents that go up a lot.
Welfare conditionality and insecurity in the UK welfare system
The UK welfare system is really tough nowadays. People who get help from the system have to do things to keep getting money, even if there are no good jobs around. If they do not do these things, they can lose their money for a time.
This is very bad for people who are already having a hard time. The UK welfare system is supposed to help people. It is actually making things worse. It is causing people a lot of stress and worry.
The UK welfare system is not helping people to become financially secure. Many people go in and out of the system. Never really get back on their feet. The UK welfare system has changed a lot over time. It used to be to help people, but now it is more about controlling them.
Work without security
Having a job does not mean you will be safe from being poor. A lot of people who do not earn much money have jobs that are not stable. They have to work strange hours, and they do not get paid very much.
For a time, the money people take home from their jobs has not been going up very much, but the cost of living just keeps going up and up. Many people who work have to get money from the government to help them get by, but this help is not very much.
The problem is that people do not get paid enough. The system in the UK that is supposed to help poor people is not doing a very good job. This means that having a job does not always mean you can stop being poor.
Policy responses without structural reform
The government seems to be trying to help poor people. They have made some rules to make things a little better. Most of the time, they just gave people some money to help them away.
They did things like give money for a little while or make special programs to help with big problems. They did not fix the big problems that make people poor in the first place — things, like people not getting paid enough, houses being too expensive. Not having enough help when they need it. Even when they tried to help kids who are poor, they had a hard time.
They could not reach the families who needed the most help. The government is still trying to help people who are poor like families who are struggling with poverty. Poverty in the UK has become a big problem that is getting worse.
Child poverty and long-term damage
Children are really struggling because of poverty, with around 4.5 million children in the UK living in poverty, a record high and a sign of deepening hardship. When kids grow up in homes where they cannot even get the things they need, it affects their health, education and the kind of job they can get when they are older.
There are some rules in place to help families with children. They do not do enough to help with the big problems these families are facing. Children do not have the money to get the things they need.
They have to live in situations that are stressful and scary all the time. This shows that what we are doing now is only fixing the problems we can see. It does not address the reasons why they are happening.
Managing poverty instead of reducing it
Britain is at an important point right now. If the country does not come up with a plan, it will just be dealing with poverty instead of actually reducing Britain poverty. To really make a difference, Britain needs to change the UK welfare system.
At the same time, it should make labor protections stronger and housing more affordable. The UK welfare system and labor protections, and affordable housing are all connected. When people get paid low wages and have to pay a lot for things and do not get enough help, deep poverty happens.
The current rules in Britain do not really understand how these things affect each other. Because of this, people in Britain have to live with poverty all the time. It is not something they experience just for a short period. The government needs to do something about Britain’s poverty.
A need for long-term vision
The rise of deep poverty marks a turning point in British social policy. Poverty in the UK has become more severe. Without coordinated and long-term reform, hardship will continue to deepen.
Britain now needs a strategy that moves beyond emergency responses and tackles structural causes. Only then can the country shift from coping with poverty to genuinely reducing it.
