YouGov\u2019s polling was commissioned by the Big Issue as its founder Lord John Bird led a group of vendors and campaigners to Downing Street to hand-in a petition signed by more than 13,000 people calling for Westminster to set legally binding poverty reduction targets.<\/p>\n
The leading social enterprise has been campaigning for the UK government to introduce mandatory, time-bound poverty reduction targets, highlighting the significant gap in progress between England and Scotland, where the devolved government has the target of reducing relative child poverty to 10% of Scottish children by 2030.<\/p>\n
According to the Big Issue\u2019s analysis of child poverty data, conducted in 2025[4], Scotland has seen a 12% drop in relative child poverty since 2018, while England and Wales has seen a 15% rise \u2013 a 27-percentage point gap in progress. Where 21,000 Scottish children saw their poverty lifted, 320,000 more English and Welsh children have fallen into poverty.<\/p>\n
13,629 people have backed the Big Issue\u2019s campaign by signing the petition, which was handed in to 10 Downing Street last week, ahead of the new parliamentary session beginning on 13 May.<\/p>\n
Lord John Bird<\/a>, the founder of the Big Issue and a crossbench peer, said: \u201cWith a new King\u2019s Speech on the horizon, now is the time for the government to hear our demands and introduce legislation to create mandatory poverty reduction targets.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot accept goodwill in place of real change \u2013 we must demand sustained, legislative action. Let us not look back and regret another missed opportunity.\u202fThe time has come to stop simply managing poverty and to begin ending it.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n You can read the full report on how Big Issue proposes establishing poverty reduction targets at bigissue.com\/poverty-zero<\/a>.<\/p>\n [1] 2,140 UK adults were surveyed by YouGov between 15th and 16th April 2026<\/p>\n [2] https:\/\/insidetime.org\/comment\/inside-politics-reform-and-greens-set-to-shine-in-may-elections\/<\/a><\/p>\n [3] https:\/\/www.bigissue.com\/campaign-with-the-big-issue\/poverty-zero\/<\/a><\/p>\n [4] Analysis of the child poverty rates come from the Department for Work & Pensions\u2019 official statistics:\u00a0Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2024<\/a>,\u00a0Department for Work & Pensions, published 27 March 2025<\/p>\n Ends\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n