Child poverty 'halved under Labour'

from The Daily Star

Tony Blair has hit back against accusations that Britain has become a less fair society during his tenure as Prime Minister.

Mr Blair "strongly disputed" the claim and warned that the situation was more complicated than "shock reports" often conveyed.

He denied that inequality had risen on his watch and stressed that levels of absolute poverty among children had halved.

However, he conceded that a specific minority of children were being left behind by the Government's "ordinary general policy".

Mr Blair's comments come after a poll for the Sunday Telegraph found that 90% of voters believe he has failed to make Britain less selfish in almost a decade in power. The huge majority includes 43% who think things are worse and 47% no better than under the last Tory administration.

The Prime Minister boasted in his speech to the 2004 Labour Party conference that his Government had created "a fairer Britain, yes. Better than Tory Britain, I should hope so."

Interviewed on BBC One's Sunday AM, Mr Blair insisted: "If you look at what has happened to Britain over the past 10 years, I would strongly dispute the fact that we are a less fair society.

"Child poverty had been rising exponentially in the years we came to power. We have now put it in the opposite direction. And if you look at absolute poverty among children, it's halved."

He added: "I don't say we don't have to carry on doing all of this but you have got to be careful when you read these so-called shock reports - there was an article in the papers today about 12-year-olds becoming alcoholics.

"There are real problems, I think, to do with the specific minority of children that are getting left behind by the ordinary general policy. That I think is a very specific problem."