TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has called on Labour to give working families in the north-east a “fresh start” after the region suffered one of the worst rises in child poverty under the Tories.
Speaking ahead of thousands meeting for the Durham Miners’ Gala today, he said working people in the north-east of England have been in desperate need of a new deal.
“Living standards have fallen and in-work poverty has soared under the Conservatives’ watch,” he said.
“Labour’s election victory is the chance to the turn the page and usher in a fresh start for families in the region.
“The new government’s plan to boost workers’ rights — and make work pay — can be a game changer for this region.
“Everyone deserves a secure job that gives them enough to live on.
“As we come together in Durham, there is a historic opportunity to set the north-east on course for a better future. We must grab it.”
His comments come after a recent TUC analysis showed that child poverty in the region has increased by 44 per cent since 2010.
More than one in four children in working households in the north-east are now growing up in poverty while pay packets are still worth less in real terms than in 2008 in half of its local authorities.
Across the region, average weekly pay is just £2 a week higher in real terms than in 2008 after more than a decade of stagnation, said the TUC.
The region’s shocking growth of child poverty has been laid bare by the North East Child Poverty Commission.
Its recent No Time To Wait report found that more than one-third of all babies, children and young people in the region are living in poverty, with the north-east having experienced the country’s steepest increases in child poverty over much of the last decade.
Its analysis also exposed the drastic inequalities for children across the North East Mayoral Combined Authority area.
Two wards with the very highest and lowest child poverty rates before housing costs were both in Newcastle: Elswick and North Jesmond, with a difference of 55 percentage points.
In the Tees Valley Combined Authority area, the gap stood at a staggering 62 points between Newport in Middlesbrough and Mowden in Darlington.
