Poverty stats must be a wake up call for Tories - Farron

Data released by the Office for National Statistics today shows 4.6 million people were classed as being trapped in a vicious cycle of ‘persistent’ poverty. Commenting on the news, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “These figures must be a wakeup call for the Conservatives. In Britain, 4.6 Million people endured persistent hardship and poverty. For all the Conservatives talk, these figures show they just don’t care and sadly, I think poverty is going to get worse. “The divisive Brexit the government is pushing is putting jobs at risk and this means more and more people will be driven to the edge. “Those who are consistently poor were found to have more extreme mental health problems than the general population, with high levels of self-reported anxiety and unhappiness.  The government just seem to shrug and are not doing enough to help the poorest. “These statistics chime with other recent reports which signalled a surge in levels of homelessness in Britain, found higher levels of inequality, and showed an ever-widening gap between the rich and poor.”