Poverty in London

Poverty is a problem as old as mankind and has always haunted parts of society in various forms. The fact that we have entered the 21stcentury is a clear reason to assume that poverty has been successfully defeated to the greatest possible extent and is only to be found in individual cases. However, the opposite is true and contrary to what one might expect poverty is not only an issue in developing countries. Industrial nations also struggle with increasing poverty and a continuously widening gap between rich and poor1. The problem is particularly evident in large cities. This paper examines the extent of poverty in London today. The first section outlines the essentials of poverty in general and its causes. Focussing on main reasons and consequences, the second section provides details about the different faces of poverty in London. This section is mainly based on comprehensive information about poverty provided in a report published by the Mayor of London in 2002. Unless otherwise noted, all figures provided in the second section refer to values after housing costs are taken into account. The third section of this paper describes the government’s future plans to tackle poverty and gives information about countermeasures that have already been implemented. The concluding section considers current achievements and the possible future development of poverty in the capital.