By Richard McKeever
Today Oxfam, one of our partner organisations in the Need NOT Greed campaign, has launched a new report and action plan introducing us to Fred:
The UK is fast becoming a nation of FREDs:
Forgotten by those in power.
Ripped-off by taxes and the benefits system.
Excluded from opportunities.
Debt-ridden because they can’t afford to get by.
Oxfam is launching a hard-hitting report, Close to Home, UK Poverty and the Economic Downturn, warning that things will get much worse for the fifth of the population already living in poverty, and for millions more whose livelihoods are threatened by the recession. A new poll commissioned by Oxfam revealed that:
- 76% of adults do not think that Job Seekers Allowance is enough to live on
- Only 4% of adults surveyed think that the government has done enough to help those that have lost their jobs
- 86% of people say they, or someone they know, has been affected by the recession
Oxfam is calling on the government to adopt a six-point rescue plan, including cutting taxes for people on low incomes and raising benefits so that everyone, in and out of work, has a basic income that is enough to live on.
We support these calls – our own policy proposals are also available to download
