Growing up in Blackpool, poverty wasn’t a policy discussion – it was a daily reality.
I know what it’s like to go without, to see stress etched into the faces of hardworking parents, and to wonder why the opportunities available elsewhere never seem to reach your street. That lived experience shaped who I am today. And it’s why, as the MP for my hometown, tackling child poverty is my most urgent priority.
Blackpool is a town with an enormous heart, but it faces challenges few other communities understand. I’ve produced a report on the Impact of the Cost of Living on Childhood in Blackpool South , based on a survey of parents, carers and frontline professionals in my constituency. The results are harrowing.
Almost nine in ten people say the cost of living is robbing children of their right to a happy, healthy childhood. Families are skipping meals. Children are missing school. The scale of the mental health crisis is nothing short of an epidemic – and it’s getting worse. The very basics – school shoes, formula milk, heating – are now luxuries many can’t afford.
I’ve seen it first-hand. Before entering Parliament, I spent nearly a decade volunteering at Blackpool Food Bank. I delivered emergency food parcels for families in crisis and still do. I’ve looked parents in the eye as they broke down in tears, ashamed they couldn’t feed their children. And I’ve seen the demand spiral beyond anything we ever imagined. Food banks were meant to be a stopgap – they’ve become a lifeline.
I also chaired Counselling in the Community, a brilliant local mental health charity that offers free and low-cost support to those in need. We saw more and more young people coming through our doors in distress.
Some had tried to take their own lives. Their parents had begged for help, only to be stuck on months-long NHS waiting lists. In Blackpool, hospital admissions for children with mental health issues are 60% higher than the national average. That is a scandal.
But this isn’t inevitable. It’s a political choice. There are 700,000 more children in poverty in the UK than there were in 2010. In Blackpool we have some of the highest levels in the country – it’s a daily reality for almost half of our children.
We have the most children in care per capita. Our town has been neglected by successive governments, left to grapple with the fallout of austerity, insecure work, and a broken housing system. And it’s our children – our future – who are paying the price.
Now, all eyes are on the government’s long-awaited child poverty strategy. Families in Blackpool are watching and hoping – but they’re also weary. We cannot afford another strategy that tinkers at the edges or repackages old ideas.
The government’s taskforce must produce a bold, fully-funded plan that recognises the scale of the crisis in places like Blackpool. Anything less will be a betrayal. The voices in my report – parents skipping meals, children left behind – must be heard and acted upon.
I presented my report to the Child Poverty Taskforce to make sure Blackpool’s voice is not only represented but impossible to ignore. The families who shared their stories spoke of rationed formula, missed Christmases and children too embarrassed to go to school. But they also spoke of a deep desire to give their children a better life.
So what needs to change? First and foremost, we need to ensure that every child has the fundamentals – food on the table and a safe place to call home. It is a moral failure that so many families in Blackpool are forced to go without these basic needs.
Tackling food insecurity has to be an immediate priority. No child should be too hungry to learn, play or grow. I welcome the government’s decision to provide free school meals to all children whose families are in receipt of Universal Credit, but universal provision would ensure no child goes hungry during the school day.
We also need to guarantee affordable access to essentials like baby formula. I’ve heard from parents who are forced to water down milk just to get through the week. That is not only unjust – it’s dangerous.
Alongside food, we must provide stable, secure housing. In Blackpool, far too many children are growing up in temporary accommodation and overcrowded, damp and unsafe houses. Rogue landlords who profit from families’ desperation must be held to account.
And we need to build more high-quality social and affordable housing, supported by councils with the funding and powers to deliver it. No child should be waking up cold, damp or afraid in the place they’re meant to feel safest.
The impact of poverty on children’s mental health is also profound. In Blackpool, hospital admissions for mental health issues among young people are 60% higher than the national average.
I’ve seen the effects first-hand at Counselling in the Community, where young people turned for help while NHS waiting lists stretch into months. We must scale up community-based services and ensure every school has access to trained mental health professionals.
Childhood is not just about surviving, it’s about thriving – making sure every child can take part in sport, the arts and culture. Blackpool has so much to offer, but many local children are excluded from opportunities on their doorstep that would help them develop confidence, connection and ambition.
To lift families out of poverty for good, we need to rebuild the systems that support them. That starts with restoring our social security system to a level families can actually live on. Increasing the child element of Universal Credit by just £15 a week would give targeted help to those who need it most, lifting many children out of poverty immediately.
We also need to scrap the two-child limit – a policy that has punished parents for the size of their family.
Nearly 1.7 million children are now impacted by the two-child limit, or 11.6% of all children. In Blackpool South it’s 19% – almost one in 5. Removing it would benefit 4,250 households in my constituency, lift 350,000 children out of poverty nationally and reduce hardship for 700,000 more.
Finally, we must support parents back into decent work – with fair wages, affordable childcare and real opportunities to retrain. Because poverty is not just about income – it’s about being locked out of opportunity again and again.
None of this is radical. It is common sense backed by compassion. All we need is the political will.
I’m proud of my town. I’ve seen neighbours rally to support one another, volunteers step up when the system fails, and young people defy the odds to succeed. But they shouldn’t have to.
We cannot allow another generation of Blackpool’s children to grow up with less – less food, less stability, less hope – simply because of where they were born. I’ll continue fighting for them every day in Parliament. But the government must match our town’s determination with real investment and bold action.
Blackpool’s children deserve better. And it’s time Westminster finally heard their voices.
