The damning statistic that just turned Rachel Reeves Spring Statement into a national disgrace

Government figures released on 27 March show 200,000 more children were plunged into poverty from 2023-24. That’s an increase from 4.3m to 4.5m children in poverty.

Labour’s latest “national shame”

It comes just as chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered a Spring Statement that will take the situation further backwards. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) admitted on 26 March that its own estimation shows that fresh government austerity will push 250,000 people, including 50,000 more children into poverty by 2029/30. That’s because of cuts to welfare including support for disabled people. The impact assessment found that 3.2m families will lose an average of £1,720 per year.

Yet the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has challenged the government’s assessment and said that in fact 400,000 people would fall into poverty following the spring statement.

The official poverty statistics further showed that 28% of children experienced material deprivation in 2024, meaning they can’t afford the essentials for living. According to surveys, 300,000 more children were reliant on food banks compared to the year before.

In response to the figures, Save the Children took aim at successive governments:

These figures are a source of national shame. The rise in child poverty to 4.5 million is a direct consequence of political choices. Ministers may have inherited these figures from past UK Governments, but they must now take immediate action to ensure more children do not fall into poverty next year. If they don’t, this could be the first Labour Government that oversees a significant rise in child poverty – a record no one wants. The two-child limit and benefit cap must be scrapped, and child related benefits locked to rise in line with wages or average earnings, whichever of the two is higher.

Speaking on Sky News, Reeves ignored the estimations from JRF and even those from her own government. The word shameless springs to mind:

I came into politics, I joined the Labour party when I was at school because I wanted children from all backgrounds, including the poorest backgrounds, to have a good start in life. I didn’t see that happening under the Conservative government when I was at school or under the Conservative government of the last 14 years

Rachel Reeves: “I came into politics.. because I wanted children from all backgrounds, including the poorest backgrounds, to have a good start in life”

That’s why I’m forcing 50,000 more kids into poverty pic.twitter.com/nisgIQteNt

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 27, 2025

Why is she continuing the Conservative legacy of austerity then?

Rachel Reeves: for shame

In December, Keir Starmer relaunched his premiership with a focus on living standards. He claimed he will achieve:

Living standards raised, people better off, more cash in their pocket

But it looks like the opposite is the case. In response to the official figures, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) said:

Today’s grim statistics are a stark warning that the government’s own commitment to reduce child poverty will crash and burn unless it takes urgent action. The government’s child poverty strategy must invest in children’s life chances, starting by scrapping the two-child limit.