When Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United footballer, called on the government to provide free school meals over the October half-term … Continue reading “An alternative approach to alleviating child poverty”

Will there ever be a sum of money that satisfies the demands of the UK’s public services? It’s hard to … Continue reading “Government spending is around 40% of GDP. If that is not enough to eradicate child poverty – how much is?”

With many ifs and buts, Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms are broadly moving in the right direction. Rather than just … Continue reading “IDS and the CSJ on child poverty: a critique and a defence”

Imagine I conducted a qualitative, interview-based study enquiring into some social problem. Suppose upon reading my report, you realise that … Continue reading “UNICEF: forget child poverty, children consume far too much”

In hindsight, what would you say were the largest political achievements of the New Labour government? Whatever you have in … Continue reading “Poverty targets and tax credits: don’t follow the will-o’-the-wisp”

From the moment Frank Field raised doubts about the validity of relative poverty measures, the outrage industry has been up … Continue reading “Frank Field: speaking the unspeakable”

“Most children living in poverty are not from workless households”, writes the Guardian: “The number of children of working parents who … Continue reading “Is there any point working? Child poverty and parental employment”

The appropriate context for the term “breeding” is surely documentary films about wildlife, not welfare policy debates. Moreover, it is … Continue reading “Howard Flight and the unpleasant facts about welfare dependency”

Unemployment figures may still look bleak, but there is one occupational group which can be thoroughly relaxed about their future … Continue reading “Ending child poverty: no social worker left behind”