Quakers ask politicians to take urgent action on poverty
‘Poverty has a crushing effect on people’s dignity and life chances, and damages the social fabric, regardless of whether that is here or overseas.'
Quakers have joined calls for political leaders to set out clear plans to eradicate extreme poverty and halve overall poverty by 2030 in the UK and globally.
‘Poverty is not inevitable – it’s a consequence of political choices and priorities. With a General Election on the horizon, we call on our political leaders to make tackling poverty a priority,’ signatories, including Christian Aid and Churches Together in England, wrote in a statement released on 5 January.
‘The human cost of failing to take action now is too big and too damaging to ignore,’ they added.
The UK has seen a rapid increase in poverty in recent years, worsened by the cost-of-living crisis, against a wider backdrop of extreme levels of inequality.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), said: ‘Poverty has a crushing effect on people’s dignity and life chances, and damages the social fabric, regardless of whether that is here or overseas.
‘We believe all human beings are unique, precious, a child of God. We believe in a future where everyone has an equal share in the world’s resources and the hope, opportunities and options for living a fulfilling life.
‘Unless the gross inequalities of wealth and power are addressed, globally and within UK communities, it will be impossible to realise that future.’
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