Tory austerity and the never-ending crisis of capitalism are pushing millions of people into dire conditions in Britain.
Earlier this month, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) released its latest report on the UK, stating that 1.55 million people were destitute last year.
Destitution is defined by the JRF as when someone has: lacked two or more of either shelter, food, heating, lighting, clothing and footwear, or basic toiletries; or is in such dire financial straits that this is likely to occur in the immediate future.
Of this 1.5 million, 365,000 were children. Three-quarters were born in the UK, with many living in northern cities and a few London boroughs.
Out of those who were destitute, 62% reported going without food at some point. One man surveyed told of his experience, saying:
“They made me go nearly eight weeks without money… I did have to live basically out of a food bank… How can I pay for heating and that when I didn’t have any money coming in?”
The factors which lead to destitution are many and varied. Tory austerity clearly has an impact on destitution rates.
The number of people who were destitute actually decreased by 25% between 2015 and 2017. However, it is likely that this is because the changes to Jobseekers Allowance and the roll out of Universal Credit – with its much higher sanctions – were not complete at the time of the study.
And even though the rate of destitution has decreased, JRF found that many of those who escaped destitution still remain in severe poverty. Meanwhile, the JRF expect the numbers to rise further as the impact of Universal Credit begins to take hold, including the severe sanctions attached to the scheme.
Additionally, the study found a sharp rise in “income from paid work” amongst people who were destitute, indicating a rise of “in-work destitution”.
This goes to show just how regressive the capitalist system has become, where pay has been driven down so low that workers can no longer afford the basics to survive. On top of this, cuts to services and welfare for those at the bottom means that the proportion amongst those who are destitute who see no income at all has risen from 10% to 18% in the past two years.
The apologists of capitalism often claim that absolute poverty is a thing of the past in the advanced capitalist countries. However, the JRF study shows that destitution in the UK remains widespread today, with over 2% of the British population experiencing these dire conditions in the past year.
This is due to a cruel, barbaric system that can no longer afford the concessions of the past. While we are nominally seeing an economic ‘recovery’ on paper, the working class have seen none of the benefits, with destitution and poverty running rampant.
The capitalists have run out of solutions and their system is running on life support – all at our expense.
