Bad news for the kids…
Shocking, but hardly unbelievable statistics out today revealing Britain as the worst place to grow up if you’re a kid.
Newsnight are holding an interesting debate as I write. The government minister in charge of children Jim Murphy’s just appeared to try and defend Labour’s rather poor record over the past decade.
I was at a seminar on child poverty a few weeks back while covering the news that north London child poverty is some of the worst in the UK. Jim stood up at the beginning for a speech, which in fact was more of a discussion – or rather a “we don’t know how to solve this…so what do you think we should do?”
Good to get experts involved, but Jim had a rather hopeless air about him. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation say £4.3 billion is needed every year to do reach the government’s ambitious targets. Kids of the UK, don’t get your hopes up.
I saw Jim Murphy on that newsnight program and thought he did a much better job than the Conservative guy who really had nothing to say at all – what was his name? George Osborne or something – shadow chancellor IIRC.
I think listening to the kids is a very good way to get answers to their problems, in fact, just listening is often the best way to diffuse tension. I thought some of the kids interviewed were really quite mature and made some really insightful points.