Brown calls for a new deal to tackle UK poverty

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has called for a new multibillionpound partnership against poverty designed to attack the UK’S “depressing and rising” levels of destitution, hunger and squalor.

In the first Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Memorial Lecture in London last evening Mr Brown called on the Chancellortousehisautumn statement to raise funds to tackle growing childhood hunger and destitution.

Mr Brown said: “One of the most famous and best read of the 28 books of the great teacher, writer and moral philosopherrabbilordjonathansackswasentitledthe Politics Of Hope.

“There is no better time than an election year to rediscover our moral compass and inaugurate a new age of hope, and central to that must be a plan to end theworseninghunger,destitution and extreme poverty whichdividesanddisfigures our country.”

Mr Brown said polling results make clear it is pessimism that is now the dominant mood of the country, adding: “Under current arrangements our country risks sinking into a paralysing sense of despair and declinist thinking.”

He said research showed that the UK is near the bottomofan“internationalpessimism league”, with most people believing the political system is broken.

“There is only one way to reverse this downward spiral and to break free — Britain needs to break free from thispessimismandzerosum mentality by inaugurating a newageofhope,atthecentre of which must be a partnershiptoendwhatarethemost socially divisive issues of all - hunger, destitution and extreme poverty. Without breaking any fiscal rules in the autumn statement, anything upwards of £1.3 billion can be found by imposing a similarreserverequirement as the European Central Bank, the Swiss and others, redirecting towards poverty eradication.”