POLITICS
Why the next general election could (and should) be fought on the frontier of poverty
By Greg Barradale
Big Issue Senior Reporter
Poverty is set to be a crucial factor in the next general election – with political leaders urged to act on the soaring number of people in poverty and give the disillusioned public something to vote for.
Low-income voters are the least likely to turn out at the ballot box, but are also more open to switching sides, research shows. This combination means there is an “untapped pool of support” for any party willing to get serious about tackling poverty.
The headline statistics on poverty are stark. The UK has not seen a fall in poverty in 20 years, and destitution has increased by 148% since 2019. The end of the pandemic has seen an uptick in the UK’s income inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, and the Resolution Foundation has predicted a bigger increase in inequality thanks to falling incomes for the poorest households as a result of the cost of living crisis.
In last year’s local elections the most deprived areas had the lowest turnout; the turnout decreased the poorer a ward actually was.
The upcoming general election is set to be the most unequal in 60 years, research from the IPPR think tank found last year. Poverty is a huge factor: 9/10 of the top third of earners voted in the two most recent elections, but just 7/10 in the lower third did.
“Rising numbers of UK voters are trapped in severe financial hardship, with
