Enfield: Appalling poverty

At least 8,719 children in Enfield have been hit by the benefit cap, according to new figures from the Department of Work and Pensions [1]. Greens will ensure that everyone in the UK – adults and children alike – has an income sufficient to fulfil basic needs.

In statistics released at the same time as local election results, the DWP revealed the human cost of the benefit cap to local people.  More than 8,719 Enfield children in over 3,000 households have been affected by the cap since its introduction. Only Birmingham, with 3 times the population, has been worse hit. Enfield has also been particularly badly hit by child poverty, with a 39% poverty rate in Edmonton [2].

The benefit cap was introduced in 2013 with support from the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour.

Benjamin Gill, Green Party candidate for Edmonton, says: “Successive governments have failed the young people of Enfield. Under-privileged children should not pay the price of bankers' greed. Every person affected by this policy represents a tragedy.”

David Flint, Green Party candidate for Enfield Southgate, adds “For seven years Tory chancellors backed by Tory MPs have preached the false gospel of austerity. This gospel demands sacrifices – but not from them. It is the young, the poor and the disabled who have made the sacrifices.”[3]

It’s a new, inclusive, politics that will not forget the most vulnerable. Greens will stand up for those abandoned by the other parties.

[Press release issued 15 May 2017 at 12:00.] 

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-february-2017
2. http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/poverty-in-your-area-2016/
3. http://vote-for-david.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/poverty-in-enfield-shocking-not.html