Poverty in Britain - Why are millions of Brits so broke? | DW Documentary

[Music] in the UK Rising energy costs and a high inflation rate are leading to social tensions the worsening situation is also affecting the middle classes more and more people are no longer prepared to Stand By and Watch the government defund essential services in the UK almost one in four more than 15 million people now live below the poverty line Society is eroding what will happen next yet at the same time the world's sixth largest economy is seeing an historically low unemployment rate of 3.8 percent it's home to a thriving entrepreneurial environment a wealthy upper class and 171 billionaires but millions of people can no longer pay their bills despite working hard the in-work poor are slaving away just to make ends meet welfare system is collapsing family benefits have been cut by 50 in the last decade social inequality is at its most extreme since the second world war the consequences are catastrophic they just stopped his support he was four and a half Stone when he died this is how the state is treating vulnerable people that just shouldn't happen the government appears useless a growing number of citizens initiatives are taking social justice into their own hands more people depend on food banks than ever before many public services have been scrapped and private citizens are filling the gaps where State support is lacking good morning I'm a volunteer I don't get paid anything if nothing is done to tackle poverty and help the UK swelling ranks of socially disadvantaged some are predicting a humanitarian catastrophe [Music] a 40-minute drive from Central London Leighton Buzzard has a population of 38 000. it's a quiet Suburban commuter town but on Market Days all anyone talks about is inflation within a year food prices have risen by 14 the steepest rise since 2008. Naomi and Stuart both have good jobs but when they do their shopping they keep a close eye on prices I'm always comparing the how expensive it is now compared to how it was six or 12 months ago things have got more expensive and there's also less Choice as well we can't afford to not be diligent now we need to be a little bit more careful with what we spend our money on especially now we've got a baby as the nation reels from the cost of living crisis a new monarch was crowned earlier this year I hope that he is thinking this is crazy what's going on we need to really help help and um change the way the country is being governed at the moment um however I suspect very little will be done they're a typical middle class family they own their own home Naomi has a managerial position with a car manufacturer Stewart is a computer dealer they have a combined income of roughly 3 500 pounds a month and aren't used to having to worry too much about money but now they've started saving on Heating it's not very hot in here is it that's because we only hate one room at a time so my other half he's working in the kitchen at the moment um and so the radiator has been on in the kitchen just this morning for an hour now we're being very very careful because the price keeps on going up Naomi's maternity leave is over but she's reluctant to go back to work because the couple can't afford Child Care her sister Alexandra is in the same boat hello beautiful come in we put the heating on for an hour Alexandra is a civil servant at the ministry of justice but she and her husband can't afford a child minder either so now they've both switched to part-time work so they can look after their children themselves child minder would have cost me 120 pounds my net pay for a day is about 80 pounds it doesn't make sense for me to work child care costs are basically forcing her out of work for the first time in 25 years Alexandra is struggling financially I'm overdrawn now and I'm trying to cut things it well it makes me very anxious actually I know there are people in a much worse situation than me but I worked so hard for that and if a woman cannot be a professional and afford to live in a house and have hit the heating on occasionally when it's cold and to clothe the children then there's something not right is there something's not working while the middle classes are feeling the pinch working class families are increasingly desperate Blackpool in the northwest of England is home to some of the country's most deprived areas one of its best known landmarks is a replica Eiffel Tower the popular seaside resort attracts hordes of visitors every year [Music] Eiffel Tower and I'm sure there's some history about who got which one first isn't there yeah so did you copy us thank you 18 million tourists a year they come for Blackpool Tower but also the beach the piers the fun fair and the arcades it's a bit like the uh Las Vegas of England really the heart of Blackpool is the Golden Mile a seafront Promenade lined with attractions restaurants and souvenir shops it dates back to the mid 19th century the first visitors were workers in the local mines factories and textile mills after the second world war and until the early 1980s Blackpool was a thriving seaside resort the beaches were always crowded but when low-cost Airlines began to Boom the town's decline began British tourists opted to fly to sunny beaches on the other side of the world instead for Blackpool it marked the end of a golden era today every third job still depends on tourism locals dread the onset of winter it's such hard hard to get work here there's a lot of shops closed down for winter and then obviously they reopen but everyone's looking for work constantly on the last day of summer the town organizes a big fireworks display on the beach that attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year [Music] last hurray before winter it lasts six months here and leaves thousands homeless [Music] far from the Promenade there's a very different Blackpool derelict dilapidated hotels and abandoned shops most of the 10 most deprived neighborhoods in England are in Blackpool one of the only places that keeps its sign lit up in winter is this community Cafe Mark butcher runs a soup kitchen for homeless people okay guys only about five minutes now all right 51 year old Mark opens his doors to the town's poorest residence twice a week tonight over 20 people are waiting for a free meal they're calling sitting down God you're sitting in good I'm bringing the dog in come on come on love you're hey you're welcome as well come on tonight at this place we'll probably serve 10 of the community that we're serving they'll be homeless the rest of the people are just short on money they're probably waiting to get paid they've probably had a big electric bill for them they're not feeding themselves it's not just happening in Blackpool in the UK over 9 million people and nearly 4 million children are afflicted by food insecurity tonight there's pizza for dinner at the community Cafe for many like Becky her husband and their two children this is the highlight of their week thank you [Music] living in temporary accommodations yeah we've met quite a lot of people that are in the same situation never take anything for granted now Mark has devised a system to finance the charity project these restaurants paying customers can buy an extra Pizza that will go to one of the homeless customers so if they come here and pay a pizza forward they know they're getting a meal so it's it makes you feel secure when you're giving that you're giving to somebody who's going to need a meal and when we serve the pizzas they the customers they know this isn't three it's been paid for your pizzas tonight have all been paid for by strangers Mark's project is working so well that the Amazing Grace soup kitchen has become one of the main charities in Blackpool 400 people a week get a free meal here and demand is growing to Mark it's become a personal mission the big weights on my shoulders because if I don't get the food people they go hungry these days the Pizza Chef is always busy [Music] boom just like that Bob just a few years ago he'd never have dreamed that this is what he'd end up doing he grew up in a rundown part of Blackpool during the Thatcher era when de-industrialization swept the north of England and unemployment was rampant he and his family were known criminals we had a nickname on here and we was called The Butchers my surname is Butcher and we was called The Butchers you start off with Patty crime you stealing bikes you're robbing cars and then you move on you move up the ladder and you go from World stage to another and so that's what happened it's like it's poverty breeds this but his life took a different turn when his brother David an addict was murdered in a drug deal [Music] I saw my brother die I watched the hell on Earth I lived you know a life of Hell really as a young boy growing up and so when I made it I made a choice when I was 33 years of age to change everything after the death of his brother Mark turned to religion and Christianity 18 years later he's a different person but he's seen firsthand what poverty can lead to and that's partly what drives his charity work Ashton underline on the outskirts of Manchester is home to a population of 43 000. the former cotton weaving capital of the UK it was hit hard by de-industrialization its job center became the first in the UK to experiment with Universal Credit a single benefit that combines six in total including job Seekers allowance and housing benefit 2013 under David Cameron's conservative government the introduction of Universal Credit brought radical changes to the benefit system local activist Charlotte Hughes was outraged her story even inspired a film that's myself and Ken Loach the writer and the filmmaker can they communicate with me and he use part of the script to the film part of the film based on some things that I wrote about at the job center [Music] when Charlotte's daughter Eleanor was six months pregnant the job center imposed a benefit sanction when she said her pregnancy meant she couldn't take part in the unpaid labor required in return for benefits Charlotte Hughes has been fighting the government's department for work and pensions ever since [Music] don't be surprised if only the police [Music] Charlotte and her youngest daughter Tallulah have been protesting outside Ashton's job center every Thursday for eight years since the government reform job centers are responsible not only for processing benefits for the unemployed but also for pregnant women families and disabled people as well as housing benefits a One-Stop shop for those in need of welfare [Music] Charlotte isn't allowed him so she distributes leaflets outside darling it'll help the leaflet contains information on how to challenge the job Center's decisions in court hey going in the job center yeah darling help you can tell you what they don't tell you good luck good luck the most important thing is is that when you make a claim from the job center and if you've got to have to go to tribunal which often is the case you've got all the proof that you've got all the evidence Charlotte is campaigning against the job Center's arbitrary sanctions imposed at the discretion of individual caseworkers and which often leave people penniless this man had his payment suspended just because he missed a phone call [Music] paying the mobile phone bill the call no question if you don't answer a phone call today you get caught off yeah they don't give monkeys if you've got any money any struggle all they care about is you doing what they tell you yeah yeah if you don't do what they tell you do that's it they cut your money off moreover sometimes the job center fails to take into account a claimant state of health [Music] like in the case of this man who has a walking stick my leg I see my leg Yeah Jesus because of the doll their doctors said you can go I've got a bulging disc on my spine and I've got a leg that's had an if operation and it's I ripped it apart because of the gold I have three years of my life on 43 pounds a week as a disabled man I can't feed myself there's no clue about how these people have to have to survive they've got no clue about the medical conditions they're employed to make them fit for work it's estimated that Universal Credit has pushed 1.5 million people into poverty since its introduction in Ashton 10 years ago one thing is certain since the various social welfare benefits were merged into one the number of food banks in the country has risen sharply ten years ago there were roughly 50 across the country today there are over 2 800. including the one run by Mark butcher in Blackpool as well as hot meals he and his team now also make food Parcels for homeless people thank you all of these bags are for cooking these blue bags are for people who are genuinely homeless on the street they have no cooking facilities people can also pick up hygiene kits here in England one in five can no longer afford basic toiletries these items have been donated by companies and private individuals the volunteers are often surprised by what people bring in local local man died funeral s left over rather than throw the food away they brought it to us it's welcome the Blackpool food bank can barely keep up with demand what makes these developments all the more shocking is that the government knew full well that charity initiatives would have to fill the breach in 2010 at the height of then Prime Minister David Cameron's austerity measures the conservative leader pushed ahead with the Universal Credit plan despite the sweeping cuts to welfare it entailed according to the NGO Human Rights Watch benefits for families and children were cut by 44 percent to sweeten the pill he promoted the concept of big Society the big Society is about a huge culture change where people in their everyday lives in their homes in their neighborhoods in their workplaces don't always turn to officials local authorities or central government for answers to the problems they face but instead feel both free and powerful enough to help themselves and their own communities the former prime minister visited Paris in Spring 2021 and we took the opportunity to ask him about his social policy a few days before the interview he tweeted pictures of himself helping out at a food bank [Music] his post was heavily criticized especially by labor MP Zara Sultana foreign in the UK many people have said that the big Society was a cover for austerity measures I that's all that's often said I think it's simply not true whoever had been prime minister in 2010 would have had to take difficult decisions I don't deny that and actually we reduced the budget deficit by two-thirds we ended up with the fastest growing economy in the G7 we created two million jobs a million more businesses you know we recovered the UK economy but poverty increased no well that's not true I think look there has been an increase in the use of food banks and part of that is because the previous government before me they did not allow the job centers to refer people to food banks they didn't want the bad publicity I think that is bad you know if people need help you should direct them to where there is help available and my government let that happen [Music] David Cameron is convinced that people should be grateful that his policies enable those in need to get help from food banks a view that suggests he knows little about the economic realities faced by millions of britons this evening Graham an army veteran is in the queue outside Mark's food bank in Blackpool why are you here after working all my life Royal Marines civil serving Ken brassy office you know a lot of places I've worked I thought I'm not going to end up sleeping rough so I'd love to work myself just sufficient standards that I could actually stay in the property now 58 his descent into poverty came out of the blue before the pandemic Graham Wilson worked in the construction industry but when kovid hit he went bankrupt he moved to Blackpool to get back on his feet [Music] this is basically what they call a shittier flight which is open plan loving them in bedroom is the one place catching it out obviously Graham used to earn the equivalent of 2 000 Euros a month now he lives on a 400 Euro unemployment benefit once he's paid his rent he has just enough to buy food so he and his dog can eat or to heat his flat like 16 million others here in the UK he's facing what's been dubbed the heat or heat dilemma I'd never understood the term heat or eat so you've got what do you do in the daytime it's 15 degrees Celsius in the flat at night it goes down to eight degrees let's check it I've had this one since six o'clock this morning body warmer oh sorry jumper and t-shirt so that I could leave that fire off it's a small fan heater doesn't really heat the room I believe it or not five hours that's 10 pounds Graham knows that exactly because he has a prepayment meter he has to pay for energy up front [Music] energy suppliers would come out and fit what they called a prepaid meter which means that the turn and just to pay for his electricity before he actually receives it he didn't have a choice if customers don't pay their bills on time the energy supplies automatically install a prepayment meter four million British households now have one [Music] few days later we meet Graeme again he has to go to a nearby shop to get his prepayment meter key topped up can you talk my electricity out for me please thank you July 20 please thank you thank you 20 pounds of electricity lasts Graham four days everyone in Britain is paying more for electricity these days but households with these pay-as-you-go meters pay 10 more than others why if I'm paying them in advance why have I got to PM more than the people who are quite wealthy quite affluent unless the lord-class people and they have nothing they get no concessions nothing whatsoever for the time being Graham can still afford to pay for his electricity but winter is just around the corner and here in the north of England it can be bitterly cold if people can't afford to heat their homes their health can end up suffering the port of Fleetwood on the Irish sea has a population of 25 000. it used to be reasonably prosperous thanks to the fishing industry but today the situation is Bleak the annual per capita income is three thousand four hundred pounds below the national average life expectancy is just 70 years 10 years less than in the rest of the country that's down to a variety of poverty or abuse-induced health disorders that some doctors have even dubbed [ __ ] life syndrome [Music] okay depress Ed okay yeah I saw perfectly okay Mark Spencer has been a doctor in a local Health Center for 30 years people that we see have multiple health problems and and you'll see that in in in disadvantaged communities with poverty people live with multiple long-term conditions so you'll have diabetes heart disease you've had a stroke that the rates of depression are twice the England average the UK's National Health System the NHS isn't particularly helpful in poor areas it might be free but on average patients have to wait 13 weeks to get an appointment with a doctor hi Lisa come this way and even then doctors practices are so busy that consultations have to be brief even for seriously ill patients like Lisa who has cancer and pneumonia depressed again you're really Wheezy aren't you really Wheezy patients are supposed to stick to a one problem per consultation policy regardless of the severity of their condition I've got a lot of ear infection but Dr Spencer doesn't have time to listen according to NHS rules patients get a 10-minute slot with a GP that's shorter than in any other industrialized Nation see 10 minutes includes reading the notes seeing the patient writing the notes all of that in 10 minutes and again if you noticed the main problem with Lisa was her infection but she also wanted to talk about her hearing and uh so lots of people will come in and say as well as well as well as well Dr Spencer gives Lisa a prescription but he can't examine her ears like many of his colleagues he despairs of the situation and has often come close to giving up the death of a young patient who suffered from alcoholism spurred him on I said to him if if you don't stop drinking it's going to kill you and and he said to me he he said I know you're trying to help me but it's not the thought of dying that stresses me it's the thought of living a tragic but not uncommon story studies show that a lack of social and economic prospects play a key role in suicides overdoses and cirrhosis Dr Spencer used to prescribe patients medication as a matter of course but then inspired by some of his physician colleagues he began prescribing more unconventional treatments here at fleetwood's football stadium he puts his method of combating shitlife syndrome into practice this is the walking football club for elderly not especially athletic men many are here on the instructions of Dr Spencer who's prescribed exercise for them the doctor works with a professional coach [Music] remember walking football for touch non-contact enjoy yourselves fellas Dr Spencer is convinced of the therapeutic benefits of exercise and activity he's founded an organization that offers 77 different Health promoting activities from yoga and gardening to singing I've seen lots of people come to activities like this and over time can stop taking some of their medication you become more active you become more engaging with other people your your self-confidence improves uh you know look they're you know they're give me the ball give him the ball let me play Let Me join in that that's that's all because of self-confidence is improving right but James the sports club was a Lifeline after his wife died well the mood's much better I can speak to people now where before our very close you know I just shied away I went in Corners didn't want to meet people but now I can talk to anybody Pete is 73 and has lost 20 kilos he can't imagine life without the sports club anymore I've had heart issues and this is a great sport that you can still play what would you say would be the state of your health if you were not playing football I don't think it'd probably be here seriously don't exactly yeah I don't think it'd be on this planet a glimmer of hope for Dr Spencer in his ongoing struggle to save the poorest from dying too soon a number of politicians are becoming increasingly alarmed about the health consequences of years of austerity measures some blame the conservative government for causing the deaths of hundreds of people in the House of Commons deserted as it is opposition labor MP Debbie Abrahams for example raises the issue this is a Scandal is a scandal these are British citizens who are dying as a result of policies implemented by this government according to a BBC investigation The Strain on the welfare system has cost the lives of at least 150 people despite this Debbie Abraham's cause for a parliamentary inquiry have gone unanswered we don't know how many people have taken their lives have died as a consequence of this this is why we need this independent inquiry and I've been pushing for this for a number of years I'm not going to to give up the MP has known some of the families of these people personally for years Philip a day a 27 year old single mother took her own life in 2019 after a long struggle with a benefit system an inquest found nearly 30 instances where systemic errors had led to failures by benefits officials philippus is not the only such case this is Errol Errol died of starvation he had schizophrenia then um for work and pensions knew that and um they basically sent him letters to show that he he needed to attend assessments and when he didn't reply because he was so mentally unwell they just stopped his support he was a four and a half Stone when he died this is how the state is treating vulnerable people that just shouldn't happen tragic consequences of cuts in public spending this has also affected another sector in the 1980s the Thatcher government initiated a massive privatization of public transport as a result over 25 percent of bus routes were discontinued especially in rural areas 10 million people a quarter of whom are over 65 live in rural areas in the UK often the nearest doctor is a good hour away this isolation has been exacerbated by the lack of bus services in Cumbria bordering Scotland citizens have found their own solution this blue minibar switch travels along the Country Roads is now the only link between villages it's run by volunteers this morning Katrina is at the wheel a civil servant who has been retired for three years also on board is Neil one of the managers of fell Runner the charity that runs the bus good morning can I help you with that no that's fine you're all right the project is run by volunteers that means the bus fare can be kept at just two pounds enough to pay for petrol and maintenance if the bus drivers were paid the operating costs would be too high and the service would have to be discontinued I'm a volunteer I don't get paid anything and I'd absolutely love it and I think it's a really important thing to do for the community to be honest we have 25 volunteers after quite a long training program of eight weeks they've passed all their tests and they'll be let loose with the passengers in the next few weeks fell Runner serves a region the size of Luxembourg with four mini buses like this one and transports 10 000 passengers a year mainly elderly people who rely on public transport and Community solidarity and I'm going to visit my daughter without this bus what would you have done how could we go I couldn't go because I don't drive so it's good yes yes the volunteers do more than just bury their passengers about this morning Neil is worried about an elderly lady he hasn't seen for a while I shall just go and check that she's okay all right okay thanks [Applause] oh dear good morning good morning I did phone to say I wouldn't oh I'm so sorry to have bothered you the drivers are all gentlemen and ladies and I'm very very pleased to be able to use it not coming today for people in remote areas such surfaces are crucial there are reportedly over 6 000 volunteer-run bus surfaces across England but how sustainable are these initiatives how long will citizens be able to make up for the failings of the state [Music] Graham's situation has improved he has regular work and is paid 80 pounds a day Danny Berber 28 owner of a small construction company is Keen to help create jobs here in one of the poorest towns in England I employed him and he's in there a need for employment so it's one of the biggest reasons why I employed him she may be old but let Edge be a factor I think in this game it can it can do the work you can do it Danny employs three people he specializes in renovation work and there's a lot of demand for his skills according to official figures one in four privately rented Flats in England is considered inadequate today Danny and Graham are renovating the kitchen of an elderly woman and her disabled son [Music] thank you Deb you're very welcome especially for someone who is disabled people around me the pensions pensions are massively low these days Dany understands the plight of his poorer customers he asks them to pay for materials but he finances the labor Graham also understands how important it is to help people today's a free day for Daniel you need to reverse the mentality and look at what you can give instead of what you can take their kindness is exemplary if this is what David Cameron meant by the big Society it comes at a huge price Danny and Graham have spent a whole morning working for nothing it's a lovely gesture but they can't really afford it Danny's wife Francis is worried she looks after their two children and does the company accounts she's just had some bad news from the bank for opening balance the account is overdrawn Dan is going to have to make some tough decisions I'm trying to look at what we should pay first we need to do this by the 24th if we managed to get this other job hopefully it'll be like a few days where it won't do it takes a massive hit on us as a family and this is a business and this is one of the reasons why we're in the position that we're in I think a lot of the times we've had to learn to be a bit more like separate sometimes like we have to make money on these this work so we have to start to quote more for jobs but it is hard because especially in Blackpool the couple know they can't raise prices if they want to help people who are struggling but they also need to make a living [Music] while Danny tries to figure out what to do across town Cafe owner Mark butcher is working on his latest project [Music] he's bought an old double decker bus for fifteen thousand pounds this is it Julia the big red night but it's the first time you've seen it in it properly yeah together with Julia and the rest of the team in the cafe he's converting it into a mobile emergency shelter for homeless people and victims of domestic violence a project worth 100 000 pounds half funded by donations and half by local benefactors we've been to see the council we went to ask them to get some help and they they never really offered us anything nothing at all not a not a single penny the council wasn't interested but that just made Mark even more creative the advertising on it's going to go along there Paul Wallace so it's all going to be wrapped with the advertising audience he's planning to sell advertising space to local businesses once again Mark is relying not on the authorities but on the Goodwill of locals to fight social inequality but this is going to help the community this is going to be a game changer for the community not just the homeless people this is going to be a game changer for the whole of our community here in Blackpool one in 10 people in the UK is involved in a charity the country has no shortage of volunteers to fight poverty but at what cost [Music]

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 3,636,357

Keywords: Documentary, Documentaries, documentaries, DW documentary, full documentary, DW, documentary 2022, documentary 2023, documentary, poverty, gap between rich and poor, Britain, British Crown, inequity, shit life syndrome

Id: BK68yyrKUOA

Length: 42min 26sec (2546 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 20 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/too-many-yaMatts]

Ironically this is not available in the UK

[u/matbonucci]

For those in the UK https://piped.kavin.rocks/watch?v=BK68yyrKUOA

[u/golddilockk]

Why are millions of brits having their face eaten??? proceed to keep voting for the leopards

[u/I_am_Castor_Troy]

When corporations are listed on the stock market they are pressed to always raise profits. This leads to higher product price, lower amount of product and stagnant wages. More profit needs to be funneled to the working class otherwise there will be social rebellion (and rightfully so).

[u/Crusty_Holes]

because of global capitalism and the greed of billionaires which control the handful of companies which run the world.

there, saved ya 43 minutes.

[u/boxtroll44]

greedy rich (1%) people

[u/reditanian]

People in this thread seem to think this all started in 2020. Or 2016. Or at least when the current lot took over in 2010. Maybe you’re too young to remember. Well, it was there before. Well before.

[u/Captainirishy]

Brexit definitely didn't help their national budget or the economy

[u/Twelvety]

All the wealth has been hidden offshore and the empire gutted, as is the way