- The Lowdown
More than 10,000 protesters marched through London on Saturday on behalf of the Campaign to End Child Poverty. The group called for the Government to keep its promise of ending child poverty in the UK by 2020. The Campaign to End Child Poverty is a coalition of more than 120 UK NGOs including Save the Children, Barnardo's and Action for Children.
- Why the protest?
Research published this week by the group found 174 parliamentary constituencies where at least 50 per cent of children live in poverty - more children than previous estimates. The Campaign to End Child Poverty wanted to urge Gordon Brown to invest an extra £3bn in the 2009 budget to tackle the problem.
- How did the Government respond?
Brown reassured campaigners that he would stick to his pledge to abolish child poverty. He said: 'One of the great causes of this generation is the eradication of child poverty and I am saying that we will in law make it our duty by 2020 to eradicate child poverty in this country.'
- How did the media cover it?
The Guardian and Sky News covered the story straight, with CBBC running it as a series of pictures. A column appeared in The Scotsman with the headline: 'Ending child poverty does not mean calling each other comrade'.
