Britain has become a broken, poverty-riddled 'living nightmare' | 7.30

You can not save a penny. Even if you save it, if something comes up or you're buying every week, your shopping's getting dearer. You're living on ten hours, it's ridiculous. For almost 14 million people, this is the harsh reality of life in the United Kingdom. It's a country where the poor are getting poorer. We are what, the sixth richest country in the world, and we've got parents skipping meals so that they can ensure that children get fed. And a divisive populist movement promising to pull old blighty out of its rut is rapidly gaining momentum. This government is deep in crisis. People have lost patience with the political establishment in this country. They want something different. The leadership in Downing Street has to change. I will never walk away from the mandate I was given to change this country. We've traveled to England's north to investigate whether Britain is broken and if it can be fixed. Hull, a working-class coastal city in England's northeast. About half of the 200,000 residents here live in state housing, including Kirsty Murray. She's lived in this small terrace for almost a decade with her teenage son, who has a disability. The past, I'd say the past two years, it's been hell because obviously we had the COVID and then you couldn't get a lot of things. And then on top of that, it's now cost of living. Like I can't go to like a food bank and rely on food from them because he's on a strict diet. Are there weeks sometimes where you're worried that you won't be able to afford food for you and your son? There's been times when I've gone without just to make sure that he's been all right cuz he's my priority. As long as he's fed, I'm not bothered. The bitterly cold English winters are particularly hard. Generally, as a rule, I hardly put my heating on because we've got blankets. If it gets that cold, we'll bring coats down. Or we'll just literally sit in our beds and watch telly. Beeston area is considered the sixth poorest in the United Kingdom. And the residents can come in here and take four different items once a week for a pound. So, they come in >> Jean Boyd has run this local food bank for almost a decade and says she's never seen things this bad. Probably over 50% of children in the area are living below the poverty line. So, if you're below the poverty line, you're not going to be able to heat your houses and then you've got ongoing health issues as a result of living in cold homes. We, as an organization, shouldn't exist. We should not need to be here and our partners around the city shouldn't need to be here because people should be able to heat their homes and feed their children. The latest census revealed 21% of people across the UK are living in poverty. Without London, the UK's GDP would be lower than that of the US's poorest state, Mississippi. So, you used to constantly tell audiences about our Stewart Macanella is a politics professor at the University of Leeds. So, there was a feeling that in the 1980s, a lot of the um economic steps that were taken then, which a lot of people felt privileged the interests of finance in the center of London, tax cuts that tended to favor the already affluent, and meantime, underinvestment in parts of the north. In the 1970s, the UK's manufacturing made up 30% of the country's GDP. MAGGIE, MAGGIE, MAGGIE! BUT throughout the '80s, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, much of that industry moved offshore. Today, it's just 8% of the UK's economy. There are other factors that have contributed to Britain's standard of living decline and the increase in poverty. UK productivity growth has slowed significantly since the 2008 market crash, going from around 2% annually to 0.6% on average. And there's been massive cuts to local councils and public services. Real wages have gone backwards, and that's combined with skyrocketing inflation post-COVID and Brexit. I think you're looking at this off economic impacts of deindustrialization in parts of the north of England. People feeling that they're losing out. Here in London, the seat of power, the government is promising to increase the minimum wage, build more homes, and invest in infrastructure to create more high-paying jobs. Its conservative opponents are pledging to reduce taxes and in stamp duty. There is also a focus in that building on reducing the level of migration with the claim it'll ease pressure on infrastructure as well as housing. But you speak to political analysts, economists, and they'll tell you that the problems in this country are deep-seated, and for any politician to fix them, they'll need a lot of time, but perhaps most importantly, patience from their colleagues, other politicians, and the public. for British citizens only. But there is a man promising a speedy fix, populist Nigel Farage, who leads the Reform Party. All right, I give up. Recent polling shows that the Labour government's support has collapsed, and if an election was held in the UK tomorrow, Nigel Farage could become Prime Minister. In recent months, he's been recruiting MPs of the opposition Conservative Party, including former Shadow Foreign Minister Andrew Rosindell. We've been let down by both Conservative and Labour governments for so many years. We need a change. We need reform of our country. Nigel Farage was obviously one of the most high-profile advocates for Brexit. Some people would say that the UK no longer being in Europe is part of what's driving up inflation. Uh the opposite is true. So, what's happened is that since we've left the European Union, we're in control of our own laws again. When we were in the EU, we had to do what we were told by Brussels. Disaster. The idea that Brexit is the cause of our problems is absolutely wrong. Reform's message seems to be cutting through in the UK's most deprived areas, including Hull. Like transport, what be the Once a traditional Labour heartland, the city recently elected a Reform Party mayor, former Olympic gold medal boxer Luke Campbell. I personally think that people are was fed up of politicians and they wanted something different. Um I'm a sporting I've got a sporting background. I've got no no experience in politics and I was always very clear about that. Why did you decide to run as a Reform candidate? I just thought it has as it was it just won't currently working and I think we needed something different and that was my choice. But across town, Kirsty Murray is doubtful any politician can make material change. Until you've lived it, you don't know. It's all right making these promises, but they're empty promises. Some people have told us that they feel like Britain is broken. Would you agree? It is. It is broken and it's not going to get any better. Would you leave somewhere else if you could? I would move in a heartbeat if I could. I would literally pack up and go because it's a walking nightmare.