In my school days in Iraq I remember our history teacher telling us about Harun Al-Rashid, the caliph who ruled Iraq in the seventh century. The story goes that under disguise he would regularly frequent the tea houses of old Baghdad. His purpose was to discover what problems ordinary people, particularly the poor and vulnerable, were facing in their daily lives. The information would then be used to instruct his officials on how to help. This story came to mind when I listened to how government ministers have responded to a United Nations report on poverty in the UK. The report was authored by its Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Professor Philip Alston.
In his two-week fact finding visit to the UK he met people suffering extreme hardship and deprivation. The report quotes figures from reliable sources of 14million people living in poverty, 1.5million of whom are destitute. It is truly shocking that the lives of so many of our citizens are blighted by extreme poverty. Remember Britain is the fifth richest country on the planet. He goes on to say:
“The country’s most respected charitable groups, its leading think tanks, its parliamentary committees, independent authorities like the National Audit Office, and many others, have all drawn attention to the dramatic decline in the fortunes of the least well off in this country. But through it all, one actor has stubbornly resisted seeing the situation for what it is. The Government has remained determinedly in a state of denial. Even while devolved authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland are frantically trying to devise ways to ‘mitigate’, or in other words counteract, at least the worst features of the Government’s benefits policy, Ministers insisted to me that all is well and running according to plan.”
How did Tory government ministers respond, when reporters confronted them with the findings of the report? Their replies were an avalanche of statistics telling the nation how well the economy is doing, mixed with disrespect to Professor Alston. Listen to Brexit Minister Kwasi Kwarteng dismissing the report and bragging about how well they managed the economy.
Surely a caring government should thank Professor Alston, for highlighting the suffering of so many and then resolve to to act on his findings? Here are my questions to our government: If the economy is doing so well, why is it that the lives of so many are blighted by poverty? Where is the money going? When they tell Professor Alston that “all is well and running according to plan” To which plan are they referring? Could it be that our Tory government believes that poverty is the fault of the poor? The Tories have certainly devised a system that punishes the poor. And do they believe that it is only through punishment, the poor will work harder and thus get out of poverty? Is that the Plan? Let us remind this government that 60% of the British people (8million) in poverty live in a household where at least one person is in work.
The substantial salaries earned by most members of our Tory government are no more than the icing on a substantial wealth cake. They have no understanding of families that live in poverty where low wages and/or welfare payments are barely adequate to pay for the necessities of life - food, shelter, heating. They have no savings and any delay in payment or a household emergency will tip them over the edge into debt, destitution and homelessness.
To gain an appreciation of the lives of the poor, our rulers need to listen to charities who are on the front line providing help to those most in need. They can tell ministers what the problems are and how they could be solved. Listen to Professor Alston. He is not a politician; he is motivated by the desire to improve the lives of so many of our citizens. Respect him and act on his recommendations.
It is not necessary for our rulers to go into disguise like Harun Al-Rashid to find the truth; it is staring them in the face. They just need to remove the blinkers to see it. The question is, however, do they have the will to act?