A deeply researched look at how UK poverty levels skyrocketed, and how the crisis can be fixed.

Almost a third of children in Britain today live in poverty. But how did we get here – and what can be done to turn the tide?

Joanna Mack traces the roots of Britain’s poverty crisis to political choices that have left millions unable to withstand the turmoil of the 2020s. Drawing on four decades of pioneering research, Mack offers a clear-eyed analysis of what it will take to rebuild Britain’s social contract. She sets out bold, practical strategies to create a fairer society, alongside pro-poor policies to protect the most vulnerable. Urgent, evidence‑based, and forward-looking, Impoverished is a blueprint for renewal.