Author Archives: Martin Narey

Opinion: Social mobility – we can make a difference

Last week’s Liberal Democrat News carried the following article from Martin Narey:

The UK is the fifth richest nation on Earth, yet it has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialised world. Labour has made some commendable progress in reducing the truly shocking level of child poverty they inherited in 1997.

But even after allowing for the implementation of Budget measures for which investment has been found, they find themselves a million adrift from their ambition to halve child poverty by 2010.

Poverty can have a profound impact on a child, on his or her family, and the rest of society. It often sets in motion a deepening spiral of social exclusion, contributing to problems in education, employment, mental and physical health and social interaction. But what should really make child poverty alarm us all is the disturbing fact that a child born into deprivation seems now more likely to inherit his or her parents’ disadvantage than at any time in our recent past.

Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | 10 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Slamdac
    Given that (1) 255 British Soldiers were killed, and (2)755 were injured in the Falklands War and (3)about 5,000 to 7,000 British Soldier's served in the Fa...
  • Rif Winfield
    Yes, thanks for an excellent contribution, Vince. We do need to have a detailed discussion about the best way to provide social housing. Those of us with long m...
  • Callum Robertson
    I do always appreciate it when a member of the House of Lords who sits in the helpful category of being exempt from tax from their lords allowance feels the nee...
  • Callum Robertson
    Jana - with all the best will in the world, there are not exactly masses of jobs available for young people....
  • Peter Hirst
    Hope does not come just from economic prosperity. The north enjoys wild spaces and mountains where you can walk all day with hardly seeing a soul. It has many v...