Melissa Hussain: Why is Labour, ‘the party of social justice’, dragging its feet over poverty?

Melissa Hussain is Chair of Conservative Young Women London and Chair & Director of Anti-Poverty Conservatives

In opposition, Labour was unequivocal: tackling child poverty was a defining mission.

Yet, now in government, the urgency has faded.

While union priorities have been addressed with remarkable speed, families facing soaring bills and deepening hardship are still waiting for decisive action.

The contrast is stark.

The party that campaigned on a promise to eradicate poverty now appears hesitant to enact the very policies it championed. The recent welfare rebellion—where Labour MPs were summoned to No. 10 for tense “roundtable” discussions on proposed benefit cuts—has exposed deep internal divisions. Many backbenchers are openly questioning whether this government is living up to the values they were elected to defend.

Labour’s approach to welfare reform has become emblematic of a broader policy paralysis.

The government’s flagship child poverty strategy, once promised as an urgent priority, has now been delayed until at least the autumn budget, if not later. Senior figures, including the Chancellor, are reportedly concerned about the fiscal cost of key proposals, even as tens of thousands more children are projected to fall into poverty as a result of inaction. This delay has left many MPs and campaigners furious, with calls growing for Labour to honour its commitments and act decisively.

This hesitancy is mirrored in education policy.

Labour’s new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill proposes changes to academy schools, including making the conversion of failing schools discretionary rather than automatic. Previously, schools rated “inadequate” by Ofsted were swiftly converted to academies to expedite improvement. Now, the process will involve additional assessments and consultations, potentially delaying much-needed interventions for struggling pupils. Critics argue these delays could prolong exposure to substandard education, much as delays in welfare reform prolong hardship for families.

The parallels are clear: in both welfare and education, Labour has replaced automatic, urgent mechanisms with slower, more discretionary processes. For families struggling to heat their homes or put food on the table, these delays are not bureaucratic footnotes—they are existential threats.

At the heart of this impasse lies a deeper problem: the data underpinning our understanding of poverty is increasingly unreliable. The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently highlighted significant inconsistencies in health-related benefit claims, with some surveys showing increases in long-term conditions and others showing none. Declining survey response rates raise the risk of underestimating the true scale of hardship. The 2021 Census, conducted before the surge in health-related benefit claims, may have missed key post-pandemic impacts, while the later Scottish Census did record a rise in poor health—suggesting that timing and methodology matter enormously.

This data uncertainty provides convenient cover for political procrastination. Without clear metrics, it is easier for ministers to delay or dilute action while claiming to await more evidence.

What is needed now is not more Whitehall deliberation, but direct engagement with those affected. Visiting Britain’s poorest neighbourhoods would reveal the human stories behind the statistics: the impossible choices, the mental health toll, and the intergenerational barriers that perpetuate poverty.

The causes of poverty are complex—often rooted in intergenerational disadvantage, lack of educational opportunity, or the challenges faced by those unfamiliar with British institutions. These factors frequently precede the mental health difficulties now cited as drivers of benefit dependency.

Labour’s grassroots members—many of whom joined the party to fight for social justice—are increasingly disillusioned by what they see as a retreat from core principles. Leadership may attempt to downplay dissent, but the growing rebellion suggests discontent is too widespread to ignore.

To its credit, the Government has taken some steps to address the cost-of-living crisis, particularly on energy bills. But these incremental measures fall short of the comprehensive anti-poverty strategy that Labour promised and that millions of Britons desperately need.

Time is a luxury families in poverty do not have. Each day of delay means more difficult choices, mounting debts, and deepening despair. If Labour truly believes in a fairer Britain, it must rediscover the urgency it showed in opposition and put poverty reduction at the centre of its agenda—with a balanced approach that provides both adequate support and clear pathways to independence.