Child poverty group's protest march (From Harrow Times)

Child poverty group's protest march

9:21am Saturday 4th October 2008

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A demonstration march to the heart of British politics is hoping to raise awareness of the level of child poverty in the UK.

The 'Keep the Promise' rally aims to remind the Government that it is in danger of missing its target of halving child poverty by 2010.

Supporters will be urging Gordon Brown to get his promise back on track by investing an extra £3 billion in the 2009 budget.

Thousands of demonstrators are expected for the march from Trafalgar Square to Westminster in central London. It is organised by the Campaign to End Child Poverty, a coalition of more than 120 UK organisations concerned about high levels of child poverty,

Research published this week by the campaign found that in 174 of 646 parliamentary constituencies across the UK, more than half the children live in poverty.

It suggested that pockets of the UK were in "turmoil" and millions more children than previously thought were being left behind.

Of the 13,233,320 children in the UK, 5,559,000 - more than a third - live in low-income families or families in poverty.

The research was compiled from Government statistics and also includes the numbers of children in families on Working Families Tax Credit.

Some 22% of children, or 2,895,000, are in families claiming the tax credit while 22% or 2,664,000 live in workless families.

In individual constituencies, Birmingham Ladywood came top with 81% or 28,420 children coming under the two classifications.

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