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Nearly Half of UK Adults Face Financial Crisis Within a Month of Income Loss

Big Issue Group's new report highlights widespread financial precarity, regional disparities, and renewed calls for binding anti-poverty measures.

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Big Issue vendors Andre, Kelvin and George. Image: Louise Haywood-Schiefer for Big Issue
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Overview

  • A Big Issue/YouGov survey reveals that 47% of UK adults would struggle to afford basic necessities within a month of losing their income.
  • The survey highlights regional disparities, with over 50% of respondents in Wales and London reporting heightened vulnerability compared to 41-42% in Scotland and the South of England.
  • Big Issue Group’s 2024 impact report shows vendors earned £3.9 million from magazine sales, while £2.7 million was invested into 13 social enterprises supporting 1.8 million people, a 20% increase from 2023.
  • Public disapproval of the UK Labour government’s poverty policies has risen to 72%, fueling demands for statutory poverty-reduction targets.
  • Big Issue Group’s CEO, Paul Cheal, emphasized the urgency of addressing poverty, describing it as a destabilizing issue affecting society at large.