Open letter calling on party leaders to end poverty and hardship in the UK

Dear Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer,

We are writing to you as a diverse network of organisations united by our shared desire to see an end to poverty and hardship in the UK.

This general election is taking place against a backdrop of deep and growing hardship. In the six months to May, 7 million low-income households were forced to go without essentials like food, adequate clothing and basic toiletries, and over the past year, food banks in the Trussell Trust network distributed a record 3.1 million emergency food parcels. Most shockingly of all, almost 4 million people, including 1 million children, experienced destitution in 2022 – more than double the rate from five years previously.

Such levels of hardship are unacceptable in the UK and cannot be allowed to continue. The public are deeply concerned about the situation and believe it is the UK Government’s responsibility to right this wrong. It is clear they want to see action and commitments to turn this situation around so that no one is forced to go without essentials or to need a food bank to survive.

Yet right now there is a stark lack of focus from either of you on how you intend to tackle these issues if elected as Prime Minister next month. Families facing such levels of hardship cannot wait for the promise of growth, nor should they have to – the UK is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and has the resources to act now. Failing to do so is a political choice.

Together, we call on you to urgently set out a plan to help provide immediate relief to families struggling with hardship, as well as commit to developing a serious and ambitious strategy to build a future where everyone can afford the essentials, and no one needs a food bank to survive.

Yours Sincerely,

The Trussell Trust

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation

38 Degrees

Acts 435

Advice NI

AdviceUK

AdvoCard

Age UK

Alexandra Rose Charity

Amnesty International UK

APLE Collective

Asylum Matters

Aylesham Community Trust

Baptists Together

Barnardo’s

Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre

Bevan Foundation

Big Issue

Black Country Foodbank

Borders Community Action

Brandon Trust

British Association of Social Workers

British Psychological Society

Buttle UK

Cambridge Housing Society

Carers Trust

Carers UK

Caritas Diocese of Northampton

Caritas Diocese of Salford

Caritas Shrewsbury

Carnegie UK

Catch22

Catholics for AIDS Prevention & Support (CAPS) C.I.O.

Centre for Mental Health

Centre for Progressive Policy

Charity Finance Group

Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI)

Children North East

Children1st

Christians Against Poverty

Citizens Advice

Clarion Housing Group

Coeliac UK

Communities that Work

Community Advice Lisburn & Castlereagh

Community Housing Cymru

Community Money Advice

Community Ventures Middlesbrough Ltd

Compassion in Politics

County Durham Community Foundation

Crisis

Diabetes UK

Difference NE

Directory of Social Change

Disability Action

Disability Benefits Consortium

Disability North

Durham Christian Partnership

East Belfast Community Development Agency

East Durham Trust

Eastern Synod of the United Reformed Church

Elicit Theatre Company

End Fuel Poverty Coalition

End Furniture Poverty

Fair by Design

Falls Community Council

Families Outside

Family Fund

Feeding Families

Food Plymouth CIC

Foothold, The Institution of Engineering & Technology Benevolent Fund

Gingerbread

Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector

Glass Door Homeless Charity

Good Things Foundation

Greater Manchester Poverty Action

Green Alliance

Growing Rights Instead of Poverty Partnership (GRIPP)

Happy Days UK

Hartlepool Baby Bank

Hastings Food Network

Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE)

Homeless Link

Hospitality and Hope

Humanists UK

In Kind Direct

Includem

Inclusion Barnet

Independent Food Aid Network

Inspire Wellbeing

Jubilee+

Just Fair

Kidney Care UK

Law Centre NI

LIFE CHANGE CHANGES LIVES

Little Village

Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales

Locality

Love, Amelia

Macc

Macmillan Cancer Support

Marie Curie

Mencap

Mental Health Foundation

Methodist Central Hall Manchester

Mind

Money Advice Trust

Motor Neurone Disease Association

MS Society

Mums On a mission

Nacro

National AIDS Trust

National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA)

National Education Union

National Housing Federation

National Justice and Peace Network

NCVO

NE Youth

Neighbourly

New Economics Foundation

NewstrAid Benevolent Fund

NICVA

North East Child Poverty Commission

North Western Synod of the United Reformed Church

Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network

Northern Ireland Council for Racial Equality

Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA)

Northern Ireland Women’s Budget Group

Northern Synod of the United Reformed Church

Nourish Scotland

One Parent Families Scotland

Oxfam GB

Parenting across Scotland

Parenting Focus

Parkinson’s UK

PlaceShapers

Poverty Truth Network

Q&D Productions

Quaker Social Action

Reclaim the Agenda NI

Refuge

Rethink Mental Illness

Reuse Network

Riverside Community Health Project

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Royal Society for Public Health UK RSPH

Rural Community Network

Save the Children UK

Scope

Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA)

Scottish Out of School Care Network

Scottish Refugee Council

Scottish Women’s Budget Group

Share The World’s Resources (STWR)

Single Parent Rights

Society of St Vincent de Paul North Region (NI)

Southern Synod of the United Reformed Church

St Andrew’s Community Network

St John of God Hospitaller Services (SJOG)

St Vincent de Paul Society

St. John’s-Renfield Church

Support and Grow North East

Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming

The Association of Charitable Organisations (ACO)

The Cherry Tree Project

The Children’s Society

The Dandelion Community, Wythenshawe

The Equality Trust

The Food Foundation

The Hygiene Bank

The Larder Belfast

The Methodist Church in Britain

The Mighty Creatives

The Parish of St Cuthbert’s and St Joseph’s North Shields

The Poverty Alliance

The Poverty Truth Community

The Printing Charity

The Resource Centre Derry

The Robertson Trust

The Rope Trust

The Salvation Army in the UK and Ireland

The Stockport Food Network

The Teesside Charity

The United Reformed Church

The United Reformed Church National Synod of Wales

Trinity Centre

Trowbridge Pantry

Turn2us

UCL Institute of Health Equity

United Reformed Church East Midlands Synod

United Reformed Church National Synod of Scotland

USPCA

VOICES ADFOCAD

Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG)

Volunteer Glasgow

VONNE (Voluntary Organisations Network North East)

Wallsend Children’s Community

Waltham Forest Community Hub

We Care Campaign

Women’s Budget Group

Women’s Enterprising Breakthrough

Women’s Platform

Women’s Regional Consortium, Northern Ireland

Women’s Support Network

Xaverian Missionaries UK Province

Z2K