KIM McGUINNESS: It’s about time Government had a persistent plan to fight this persistent poverty

And the majority of children growing up in this poverty are from working families. That’s families that were previously keeping afloat who are now sinking; they’re sinking despite mam working overtime and dad juggling jobs. The work is precarious, the pay is low, and the struggle is real.

In Sunderland Central, the ‘children living in poverty’ figures have risen by six per cent since 2015, and if we look at places like South Shields it’s worse still – a 10 per cent increase over the same period. And yet to me these numbers aren’t surprising at all. I am appalled things are so bad, but I am not surprised. These figures are the consequence of a government’s failure to invest in our region for over a decade. This is a reality for many North East communities, and it’s become all too regular.

The consequences of poverty and pregnancy, poverty and childhood, poverty and life outcomes are multiple. If you’re born into a family battling through a cycle of poverty, it’s hard to break free from it. If you’re a parent in an area of deprivation you’re more likely to be worried your children will suffer from bad influences and be tempted into crime. It’s not always the case but data also suggests you are more likely to get ill, more likely to not finish school and you’re more likely to be a victim of crime. And if you are a victim of crime in one of our hardest hit neighbourhoods, the impact hits you harder and it takes longer to recover.

It’s for these very reasons that I launched my Fighting Poverty, Fighting Crime drive last year. We have to declare war on poverty if we are going to stand a chance at bringing crime down. Poverty isn’t inevitable so surely it should be something we are all fighting to end, particularly here in the North East – an area with poverty levels among the worst in the country.

Disappointingly, levelling up hasn’t come to fruition. If anything, it seems to have died a death. And so, to quote a hit by American singer Pink, the latest international star to sell out Sunderland’s Stadium of Light this weekend – ‘What about us?’. This powerful song rings true for our region. It can be seen as a plea for help by the regular people, whose plights are perhaps being forgotten and for whom life isn't working out the best.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of energy and determination going into tackling poverty here in the North East but it’s about time this was matched by Government. We need a persistent plan to get us out of this persistent poverty and I will persistently fight for this.