Campaign such a worthy cause

KEVIN Maguire’s hard-hitting interview with Paul O’Grady reveals much more to the man we have always associated with a love for animals.

Paul says if he had to make the choice, he’d always put the welfare of a child before that of an animal – and rightly so (Mirror, Dec 1).

He has added his weight to The Mirror’s Save a Kid’s Christmas appeal for Save the Children, which hopes to bring good cheer and nourishment to the countless thousands of families who – to our shame in 2020 – are living in poverty and need.

It would be difficult to name a more worthy cause to donate to this year.

Margaret Mellor Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Child poverty is a dreadful thing that shames every single member of this inept and heartless government. It should not be happening here in the 21st century. That so many famil ies experiencing hardship clearly shows just how far wrong things have gone. It’s not that the Tories don’t know the reality for many families struggling on low wages in the midst of a pandemic, it’s that they just don’t care. I sincerely hope people will give generously to your campaign.

Elaine Smith Newcastle upon Tyne

Reading the excellent, but very sad, article in the Mirror about the family who will be

having sausage and mash for their Christmas dinner upset me greatly (Mirror, Nov 27). I understand the difficulty most people are having at this time, but please spare a thought for the children – after all, they are our future. Brian Derbyshire

Little Sutton, Cheshire

Your investigation into child poverty made shocking reading ( Nov 26). The top six local authorities with the highest increase in child poverty are in the North East, with Middlesbrough topping the list and my own constituency of Redcar and Cleveland at number eight.

Both are heavily deprived areas deeply scarred by long-term unemployment. Bizarrely, both places now have Tory MPs who rewarded those who voted them in by having to be shamed into providing free school meals in the holidays.

Stephen Dixon, Redcar, North Yorks

Surely part of the reason for child poverty is the lack of affordable housing. The rent must be paid before all else, including

food, utilities and other essentials, which means people have to make unbearable choices.

The social housing problem was made worse by Thatcher’s Right To Buy scheme, meaning thousands of council homes are now in the hands of private landlords with tenants paying 20-30% more than their neighbours in social housing. Instead of spending £16billion on defence, how about building more council houses?

J R Dew, Wolverhampton

This government has created an obscene level of child poverty. Many are living in desperate circumstances with their plight made worse by Covid. Too many will be going without because of the Government’s uncaring attitude.

I wonder how they sleep at night. Probably very comfortably on their feather pillows.

D Watson, Canterbury, Kent

If all new MPs of all parties had to spend their first year on Universal Credit with a five-yearly review, poverty in this country would be wiped out in five years. Nora Ackroyd, Prudhoe Northumberland