Poverty: What does it mean to be poor?

Introduction: Poverty Now and Then

What is Poverty?

The state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.

• We always hear about children in countries like Africa and South America who are living in what's called "poverty". If their families aren't earning very much money, they can miss out on things like:

• A proper education - because they might have to work

• Enough food • Proper clothing • But "poverty" isn't just about money, it

doesn't just affect children in other countries and it isn't just a thing of the past.

Poverty in the UK today:

• Did you know almost 4 million children in the UK are living in "poverty" too?

• What this means is: • 1 in 3 poor children do not

have three meals a day • 1 in 3 poor children miss out

on toys, school trips and after school clubs

• 1 in 3 poor children don't have warm enough clothes and shoes for the winter

Source: End Child Poverty campaign

The Root of the problem

• Poverty has been an issue that has affected Britain for a very long time. It’s a historic problem and as we have just learned one which plagues us in 21st Century Britain.

• We want to learn how and why British attitudes towards poverty have changed over time.

• We also want to find out how British Governments have attempted to tackle the problem of poverty and to what extent they were successful.

Poverty in Britain in 1900• For the majority of the population poverty

brought terrible living and working conditions.

• Many millions of Britons lived in terrible squalor. They lived in cold, damp, badly built, draughty slum houses.

• Overcrowding was rife which led to the spread of disease.

• The huge social problems of alcoholism and violence befell many of the people in these communities. This was the case up and down the land in the burgeoning cities of Britain.

• Working conditions were also dreadful - people got low pay for long hours working in factories, mines and mills.

• Work was hard and often dangerous with little regard given to safety procedures and safe working conditions.