POVERTY IN BRITAIN, PAST AND PRESENT

How we view the evolution of poverty in Britain in recent decades depends largely on how we define ‘poverty’ in the first place. The widespread perception of a dramatic and lasting rise in poverty in the 1980s is largely a product of a change in the way poverty is commonly defined. The poverty figures currently used to inform public policy are largely based on annual income, with the headline figure being one of relative poverty. Indicators based on expenditure or on absolute income tell a different story and also have important implications for government anti-poverty strategies.