A UN inspector came to investigate poverty in Britain - here's what he found

[Denzil_DC]

Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, was scathing about the government’s cuts and welfare changes.

What does a 12-day trip around the UK looking into austerity, Universal Credit, child poverty and the impact of Brexit show you? That the “fabric of British society” is falling apart, and ministers are “in a state of denial”, according to Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

The human rights expert announced his findings at a press conference in London, after travelling all over the country – from assessing rural poverty in Bristol to visiting foodbanks in Newcastle, from speaking to schoolchildren in Scotland, discovering how devolution has to mitigate government policy in Wales, and hearing about hardship in Clacton, Belfast and Newham.

Alston took a dim view of what he saw, accusing the British government of breaking its human rights obligations, and finding austerity has inflicted “great misery” on UK citizens.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2018/11/un-inspector-came-investigate-poverty-britain-here-s-what-he-found

The article at the link quotes Alston's findings in detail. They are summarized under the following headings:

The UK is breaking human rights obligations

Government is ignoring how people will “suffer” from Brexit

Ex-Work & Pensions Secretary Esther McVey shrugged off Universal Credit domestic abuse risks

Universal Credit is “problematic”, “harsh”, “unnecessary” and “gratuitous”

Cuts and benefit changes are “ideological”

The DWP is misleading us on Universal Credit

…and on benefit sanctions, which are “counter-productive”

In fact, government ministers are “in a state of denial” about poverty

The state “does not have your back any longer”

Freezing benefits is hypocritical

The two-child benefit limit is like China’s one-child policy

British society is becoming “increasingly hostile” as its fabric is eroding

But other than that, everything's going swimmingly.