In response to today’s publication of the Institute for Fiscal Studies report, Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2019, which shows levels of poverty in London are 31% higher than in the rest the UK, Labour’s London Assembly Economy Spokesperson, Leonie Cooper AM, said:
“This report exposes how the most vulnerable Londoners continue to bear the brunt of austerity. The Government need to take responsibility and stop outsourcing their duty of care to the poorest in our society to the third and public sectors, whose resources are already under severe strain.
“The Government’s well-rehearsed mantra that work is the best route out of poverty rings hollow with Londoners when the increase in the employment rate and the minimum wage is effectively nullified by the damaging impact of their callous austerity policies and welfare reforms.
“To reverse this downward spiral, it is high-time that our communities start to see the level of investment they need after almost a decade of steep underfunding and cuts to local authority budgets. It is also vital that more businesses in London listen to the Mayor’s calls and adopt the London Living Wage”.
ENDS