A charity is encouraging people to ask General Election candidates how they plan to tackle poverty in Whitehaven.
Debt help charity Christians Against Poverty runs a debt centre in Whitehaven in partnership with St John’s Hensingham and other local churches, and provides free, independent debt help.
Concerned about the lack of focus on poverty and its devastating impacts by all the main Westminster parties, the charity has launched a new online form -at capuk.org/ppc – that allows anyone to easily ask a question of their Prospective Parliamentary Candidates.
The form offers three pre-prepared questions, lists all the candidates’ names in the Whitehaven and Workington constituency and takes only two minutes to fill out and send.
CAP’s Whitehaven Debt Centre manager, Mel Turner, said: “Poverty in the UK is a matter of public urgency and must be a priority for our next government.
“Every week I see clients who are trying to survive on incomes so low they don’t even cover the basics. Even after we’ve given all our professional debt advice, half the people we see have so little income their budgets simply can’t be made to balance.
“Skipping meals, going without heating on cold days, sleepless nights, feeling anxious, depressed and isolated, this is what living in poverty looks like for many of the people I help in Whitehaven. The impact of poverty is huge, both on families and the wider community.
“Almost half our clients considered or attempted suicide before coming to us for help.
“Over 14 million people in the UK are trying to survive on incomes that don’t allow them to buy the essentials the rest of us take for granted.
“It’s important that anyone putting themselves forward as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in the general election has an understanding of how rising costs combined with low incomes are impacting our community and is committed to supporting local organisations to help tackle poverty in our area.
“Anyone can use our Ask About Poverty! campaign to quickly and easily ask their candidates about poverty.
“We hope that people in Whitehaven will take the chance to find out more by using the form which they can find at capuk.org/ppc.”
