Poverty in Britain is quickly being removed from the country’s list of social reforms. Instead of new policies or legal changes sweeping the United Kingdom, poverty is being struck from Great Britain’s dictionary and being substituted with a much more stern response from the government. The very definition of “poverty” in Britain has become the focal point in this new era of British government.

An article published on July 2, by Britain’s flagship newspaper The Guardian, highlighted this new outlook by British Prime Minister, David Cameron. An excerpt from the article reads, “As an issue, poverty is to vanish, no longer a target or a word in the Conservative lexicon. Other things will be targeted instead – worklessness, family breakdown, addictions, debt and educational success. In doublespeak, the very meaning of the word poverty disappears when to be poor no longer means to lack money. To be poor will from now on mean to fail, to be poor apologies for human beings, people in error, in need of correction not cash.” Essentially, those in poverty are there because of a lack of work ethic to rise above the country’s poverty line.

The shift in attitude stems from the British government’s decision to focus primarily on attacking low national income to combat widespread poverty. While initially seen as a government abandoning a particular demographic, British officials maintain that this new direction will benefit the country the most in the foreseeable future.

An article by the Belfast Telegraph reported on the new approach to Britain’s economic issues. The article says, “the plan is to replace Labour’s Child Poverty Act, which established a duty for governments to eradicate the problem by 2020, with new legislation that will instead require ministers to report regularly on measures affecting a child’s life chances.” This reform aims to analyze data more carefully and make changes based on external factors affecting child poverty in Britain.

By making it a priority to target things such as unemployment, drug use and family breakdown, Britain’s government can effectively coordinate an appropriate response to nationwide poverty.

– Diego Alejandro Catala

Sources: The Guardian, Belfast Telegraph
Photo: The Independent