Ealing: 23,000 children living in poverty

A staggering 23,000 children in Ealing are living below the poverty line, reports the Ealing Gazette.

They live in poor-quality and overcrowded housing, or temporary accommodation and will probably grow up to be poor adults with emotional issues, according to new figures that show poverty rates across 624 wards in London.

Carey Oppenheim, chair of the London Child Poverty Commission, said the problem would not be solved without major policy changes and improvements to benefits and tax credits.

She said: "Radical improvements in employment for parents of low incomes, rises in national benefits such as child benefit and child tax credit as well as specific measures which improve the incentives for Londoners to take and hold on to jobs are all needed."

Can Ealing MPs Stephen Pound, Andrew Slaughter and Piara Khabra all really intend to vote to approve paying billions of pounds a year to an audit-failing and obviously wasteful body like the EU, with such serious problems in their own backyard?

Are they saying that their constituents living in poverty can do without a share of the £2.5bn a year of public money that the government would save if they voted against the EU budget deal?

If so, they should have a serious look at their priorities. Or at least the thousands of families affected by this problem will likely be looking for change come the next election.