The Poverty and Social Exclusion research has received extensive coverage in the media. Details of the main articles in the press and interviews on radio/tv to date are listed below, including, where available, links.
Many of these articles and interviews provide good summaries of key aspects of the research. See, for examples:
‘The resistible rise of mass poverty’ (Tribune, March 6-9, 2015),for an overall summary of key findings and Thinking Allowed with Laurie Taylor for a discussion with Joanna Mack on the measurement of poverty (20 May, 2015.
The main survey findings formed the basis of a prime time ITV documentary in March 2013, Breadline Britain Tonight, which reached 3.3m viewers. In March 2016, BBC Panorama programme, Too Poor To Stay Warm, drew on the PSE work on fuel poverty and reached 2.4 million viewers as well as generating 125,000 iPlayer views.
The ESRC annual reports published summaries of the main findings on deprivation in Britain in 2014 ('Poverty of the rise' by Joanna Mack and Stewart Lansley) and the findings on attitudes to necessities in Britain in 2013 ('How poor is too poor?' by Joanna Mack and Stewart Lansley.
The coverage has focussed, in particular, around the following events:
- The publication of 'Breadline Britain – the rise of mass poverty', by Stewart Lansley and Joanna Mack, in February, 2015 (One World, £9.99)
- The PSE UK final conference in June 2014 and the PSE Scotland conference in August 2014
- The launch of the PSE UK report, 'The Impovishment of the UK' in March 2013 (by David Gordon, Joanna Mack, et al)
- The PSE team's response to the Government's 'Troubled families' initiative in 2012 ('Trouble' ahead, by Ruth Levitas, April, 2012)
2016
‘Too Poor to Stay Warm’, a Panorama special investigation into fuel poverty, drawing on PSE data. First broadcast, March 21, 2016, you catch up here. Read more about the programme here.
'Structure rather than behaviour - on the causes of poverty', by Glen Bramley, LSE British Politics and Policy, 2 February, 2016
2015
Coverage of 'Breadline Britain – the rise of mass poverty', 2015
Articles by Mack/Lansley
‘How to eradicate poverty’, Guardian Comment piece, 18 February, 2015, Joanna Mack
‘The resistible rise of mass poverty’, Tribune, Stewart Lansley & Joanna Mack, feature, March 6 - 9, 2015
‘Poverty is rising in Scotland’, Scotsman, Joanna Mack & Stewart Lansley comment article, March, 2015
CPAG, Poverty Journal (151), 'A Divided Britain', Stewart Lansley & Joanna Mack, May 2015
‘Breadline Britain’, Open Learn, Joanna Mack comment article, March 2015
‘So why are the harms of poverty so ignored’, OU Criminology blog, May 4, Joanna Mack & Stewart Lansley
'Tackling in-work poverty requires far more than a boost to the National Minimum Wage', LSE British Politics and Policy, July 2015, Joanna Mack
'Reversing the rising tide of poverty requires fundamental change', Class, Centre for Labour and Social Studies, Stewart Lansley, February, 2015
Radio/tv interviews
Vanessa Feltz, Radio 2, interview with Joanna Mack, 20 February, 2015
Shelagh Fogarty on LBC, interview with Joanna Mack, 20 February, 2015 (subscription only)
London Live TV interview with J Mack, 16 March 2015
Thinking allowed with Laurie Taylor, 20 May 2015, interview with Joanna Mack
Press coverage/reviews
'Breadline Britain: 20 million now living in poverty', Sunday People special feature, February 8, 2015
'Breadline Britain', Yasmin Albhai-Brown, review, The Independent
'Mass migration must become a feature in the debate about inequality', comment by Paul Omerod in City Am.com
Unite book of the month, February 2015
'Want to understand the problem of poverty and inequality? Now there’s a great place to start', review by Liam Purcell for Church Poverty
'Low-pay Britain where working families have to rent a fridge', by Heather Stewart, Observer, 15 February 2015
'Britain's epidemic of prinate despair' by Aditya Chakrabortty, Guardian 3 February, 2015
Other coverage in 2015
'UK living standards: PSE election briefing', David Gordon, PSE blog, 1 May, 2015
2014
Coverage of the PSE UK final conference, June 2014
On June 19, 2014 the following UK national papers covered the PSE final conference. Pdfs of these articles are available below.
'Poverty trapped: scandal of UK's great divide', Daily Mirror
'Poverty doubles in thirty years as work fails to cover costs', The Independent
'Number in poverty soared since Thatcher', the I (Independent)
'Poverty double in thirty years, study shows', The Guardian
'Poverty getting worse for poorest', The Metro
'33% of families are poor', The Sun
'Ministers' fury over claim that poverty has doubled', Daily Mail
The findings were also covered in a number of regional papers, for example Western Daily Press (9 June, 2014)
Radio
Nick Ferrari's morning show, LBC (19 June 2014): interview with Joanna Mack followed by a 2 hour phone in on 'What is poverty?'. LBC lunchtime slot with Julia Hartley Brewer (19 June, 2014): interview with David Gordon followed by a three hour phone in on 'How do you define poverty?'.
The findings were also covered extensively internationally, for examples:
India
Italy
Venezuela
Cuba
Mexico
Spain
There was also coverage in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Coverage of the PSE Scotland conference, August, 2014
On 20 August, 2014 the following Scotland national papers, tv and other media, other media outlets covered the PSE Scotland conference.
STV news, ‘Almost 1 million Scots cannot afford adequate housing’, 20 August, 2014
Scotsman, ‘New Study shows 250,000 Scots not properly fed’
The Herald, ‘Plea for action as study finds a million Scots classed poor’ and editorial ‘Indictment that so many fail standard of living test’ (pdfs below)
The Press and Journal, Highlands and Islands, ‘250,000 Scots not properly fed’ (pdf below)
BBC News Online, ‘One million Scots cannot afford adequate housing’
International Business Times, 'Scottish Independence – alomost a million Scots too poor for proper housing'
Good Morning Scotland, Radio Scotland
Radio Clyde interview with Glen Bramley
Other coverage in 2014
'The impact of the recession on child poverty and deprivation in the UK', Jonathan Bradshaw and Gill Main, PSE blog, 31 January, 2014
''Troubled' families in a spin', Ruth Levitas, PSE blog, 11 March, 2014
2013
Coverage for the PSE report, 'The Impoverishment of the UK', March, 2013
UK coverage
An ITV 'Tonight' special on Breadline Britain was broadcast on March 28, 2013 at 7.30pm. The programme, which was entirely focussed on the PSE report, was watched by 3.3 million viewers. The ITV Tonight website ran a report on the programme and the programme was extensively followed on twitter on #breadlinebritain and #itvtonight: the comments were overwhelmingly positive.
The report achieved extensive coverage by both NGOs and the press. For example, Action for Children, The NE Child Poverty Commission blog about the report receive their highest ever hits and was re-posted on the Guerilla Policy website. Child Poverty Action Group and Children North East both posted coverage.
Press reports included stories in the Daily Mail, Guardian, Express and Star (Midlands), Newcastle Journal, and Phys Org. Radio: Interview with David Gordon, LBC (29 March, 2013).
Northern Ireland: The findings were covered in a special report on BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight ( 26 March, 2013). Press reports included stories in the Belfast Telegraph (29 March, 2013), Irish News (29 March, 2013), Irish Independent (29 March, 2013). TV and radio interviews (with Mike Tomlinson, Queen's University, Belfast) on 28 March, 2012: U105 radio, Downtown Radio, Q Radio News, and UTV Live.
Scotland: Press and radio coverage in Herald Scotland (28 March, 2013), Scotsman (28 March, 2013), Scottish Daily Mail (28 March, 2013)and Radio Scotland, Good morning Scotland (29 March, 2013).
Other: NECP website, Kirsten Besemer blog, 13 March, 2013
Other coverage in 2013
'Would an independent Scotland set a different poverty standard?', Nick Bailey, PSE blog, 26 November , 2013
'Poverty minus a pound', Stewart Lansley, PSE blog, 24 May, 2013
'Measuring Child Poverty: Can we do better?', Jonathan Bradshaw, Poverty, 144, Spring, 2013, pages 6-9
'A more unequal country', Joanna Mack and Stewart Lansley, PSE blog, 16 April, 2013
'DWP adds to confusion over consultation on child poverty ', Nick Bailey and Mike Tomlinson, PSE blog, 2 February, 2013
2012
'Troubled' families coverage
'The Listening to troubled families report is an ethical failure' Nick Bailey, Guardian, 25 October, 2012
'Troubled families report contains more anecdote than evidence', Ruth Levitas, Guardian letters (19 July, 2012)
Stephen Crossley NECP, 13, blog re Ruth Levitas Troubled Families presentation to NECP
'The government has misrepresented research on 'troubled' families', by Ruth Levitas LSE British Politics and Policy, 14 June, 2012
‘120,000 troubled families’ Every Child Update, November 2012 pp 21-24
'Still not listening', Ruth Levitas, PSE blog,17 July, 2012
Radio 4, Moral Maze, interview with Ruth Levitas (25 July, 2012)
Out There West, interview with Ruth Levitas (October, 2012)
'Policy based on unethical research', Nick Bailey, PSE blog, 24 October, 2014
Other coverage
'Moving the goal posts won't hide the coalition's failure on child poverty', Jonathan Bradshaw, New Statesman, 15 November, 2012
Last updated 6 February, 2016
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Mirror-p1-20140619.pdf | 1.01 MB |
| Mirror-p6-20140619.pdf | 1.57 MB |
| Guardian-p4-20140619.pdf | 155.98 KB |
| Independent_i-p5-20140619.pdf | 888.34 KB |
| Independent-p9-20140619.pdf | 1.77 MB |
| Mail-p26-20140619.pdf | 436.51 KB |
| Metro-p6-20140619.pdf | 499.89 KB |
| Sun-p2-20140619.pdf | 193.86 KB |
| The Herald news 20.8.14-1.pdf | 110.05 KB |
| The Herald editorial 20.8.14.pdf | 110.05 KB |
| Press and Journal news 20.8.14.pdf | 103.72 KB |
PSE:UK is a major collaboration between the University of Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, The Open University, Queen's University Belfast, University of Glasgow and the University of York working with the National Centre for Social Research and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. ESRC Grant RES-060-25-0052.
