Generation of children falling victim to homelessness and poverty, says Corbyn

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
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Olivia Tobin22 August 2019
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Jeremy Corbyn is warning that the Government is "failing a whole generation of children" who are falling victim to rising homelessness and poverty.

The Labour leader's remarks come after a report by the Children's Commissioner for England which estimated there could be more than 210,000 children without a permanent home in England, with thousands living in dangerous converted shipping containers.

At a visit to a children's lunch club in an undisclosed location in Wales, Mr Corbyn will say Labour would "take radical action" to improve the situation.

According to Mr Corbyn, stopping the roll-out of Universal Credit and introducing 30 hours of free childcare a week for all two to four-year-olds will help people in poverty.

Mr Corbyn said: "Working class children are still being held back while their wealthy peers get ahead.

"The next Labour government will take radical action to unlock the potential of every child, not just a lucky few.

"The Tories are failing a whole generation of children. A child growing up in a shipping container or a B&B, or going to school hungry, cannot be expected to reach their full potential.

"The measure of our society is how we treat our most vulnerable. And who could be more vulnerable than a homeless child?

"We have a moral responsibility to end the scandal of child poverty and homelessness."

Mr Corbyn will say Labour will provide free school meals for all primary school children and build a million "genuinely affordable homes" to lift people out of homelessness.

He will also say Labour will introduce 30 hours of free childcare a week for all two to four-year-olds and halt the closures of Sure Start centres.

He will also pledge to increase funding for schools and to reduce class sizes to fewer than 30.

Mr Corbyn will also say ending the public sector pay cap and introducing a real living wage of at least £10 an hour will boost household income.

He will also say stopping the roll-out of Universal Credit will stop people being pushed into poverty.

Conservative Party deputy chairman, Paul Scully, however, defended the Conservatives' record on fighting unemployment, and warned Labour would only make things worse.

Mr Scully said: "Jeremy Corbyn would wreck the economy, which would drive up poverty and unemployment.

"Work is the best route out of poverty. It's the Conservatives who have brought down unemployment to its lowest levels since the 1970s, meaning more children than ever before living in a working home.

"Labour would tax more, borrow more and waste more, and just like last time it's working people who would pay the price."

Additional reporting by Press Association