Debbie Abrahams MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the ONS persistent poverty figures, said:

“This persistent poverty data from the Office of National Statistics shows you can’t trust the Conservative lie that poverty only affects a small, fixed group in our society.

“The high poverty rate of nearly 17 percent combined with the lower persistent poverty rate in this data shows that poverty can affect us all at different times in our life.

“We therefore desperately need a social security system which, like the NHS, is there for us all in our time of need.”

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