http://www.islingtontribune.com/letters/2012/jan/why-it-has-become-harder-ever-find-way-out-poverty
The response of our MPs to Islington’s shocking child poverty figures was predictable but completely inadequate (Scandal of kids living in poverty, January 13). I would have thought that ashamed would have been a more appropriate response than angry.
Yes, coalition policies on the education maintenance allowance, youth employment and housing benefits are making things worse but this is not a problem that magically appeared in the last 18 months.
Jeremy Corbyn quite rightly blamed high housing costs as a major issue, but the massive house price inflation seen here mostly happened under a Labour government and it celebrated this; home-owners felt richer.
Never mind the rapidly developing divide between the haves and the have-nots.
What we need is more real social housing, not the fake ‘affordable’ housing we’ve been palmed off with.
We need new ideas such as housing cooperatives, we need more family homes and for the council to stand up to developers and push for the housing we need, not more and more luxury student blocks.
The Green Party commends Islington Council for taking up our policies on the London Living Wage and one-in-10 pay ratio.
We need to ensure these policies are spread to as many companies as possible.
Sixty years ago my family managed to start gradually moving out of severe poverty in Islington due to provision of decent social housing and free education.
Unfortunately, I believe it is now harder to get out of poverty than it has been at any time in recent history. We need fresh ideas and also a realisation of where things went wrong during the last government. Labour can’t or won’t see this; Greens do.
CAROLINE ALLEN
Green Party London Assembly candidate for Islington
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