Britain Doesn't Take a Holiday from Poverty

By Tom Burgess, CEO Taxpayers Against Poverty July 2026

For many people, summer is a time to slow down.

Airports are full. Motorways are busy. Families are looking forward to time together, sunshine and a well-earned break after another busy year.

And they deserve it.

But for millions of families across Britain, summer tells a very different story.

While some are packing suitcases, others are wondering how they will afford to fill the fridge.

While some children count down the days until their holiday begins, others count the days until free school meals return.

There is no summer holiday from poverty.

·       No two weeks off from worrying about paying the rent.

·       No break from choosing between food and heating.

·       No pause in the anxiety that comes from watching every pound while trying to make childhood feel normal.

For many parents, the school holidays bring an additional financial burden that few politicians ever talk about.

·       Children are at home all day.

·       Food bills increase.

·       Energy bills rise.

·       Activities cost money.

·       Holiday clubs are often unaffordable.

The pressure on already stretched household budgets becomes even greater.

This is what charities increasingly refer to as holiday hunger.

But behind that phrase lies something much deeper.

It raises a fundamental question:

What kind of country have we become if millions of children face a poorer quality of life simply because school has broken up for the summer?

This is not an inevitable consequence of modern life.

It is the result of political choices.

·       Choices about wages.

·       Choices about housing.

·       Choices about taxation.

·       Choices about social security.

·       Choices about whether economic growth benefits everyone or only those already doing well.

Britain is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

Yet every summer we watch families struggle to provide what most people would consider the basics.

That should concern all of us.

Not because anyone should feel guilty about enjoying a holiday.

Quite the opposite.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to rest, spend time with family and create memories with their children.

The problem is that millions simply cannot.

That is why we need to move beyond simply managing poverty towards preventing it.

At Taxpayers Against Poverty, we argue that poverty prevention should become one of the central objectives of government.

Instead of waiting until families reach crisis point, government should create the conditions that prevent hardship from arising in the first place.

That means:

• ensuring work provides enough income to live with dignity

• reducing the cost of housing

• reforming outdated taxation

• investing in affordable transport

• supporting families before they reach crisis

• creating an economy where prosperity is more widely shared

These are not abstract economic theories.

They are practical decisions that determine whether a parent looks forward to summer—or fears it.

The debate about poverty often becomes trapped in statistics.

Millions below the poverty line.

Thousands using food banks.

Children experiencing deprivation.

Those figures matter.

But behind every statistic is a family trying to hold things together.

A child who misses out.

A parent carrying guilt that no parent should have to carry.

That is why poverty is ultimately not only an economic issue.

It is about opportunity.

Dignity.

Security.

And hope.

Summer should remind us of the kind of Britain we want to build.

A Britain where every child has the chance to enjoy the holidays.

A Britain where work genuinely provides security.

A Britain where parents spend the summer making memories—not calculating supermarket bills.

None of this will happen by accident.

It requires political courage.

It requires long-term thinking.

Most importantly, it requires a willingness to invest in people before problems become crises.

There may never be a summer holiday from politics.

But there can be a future where there is finally a summer holiday from poverty.

That is a Britain worth building.

For media enquiries, interviews, or comment: Tom Burgess, CEO, Taxpayers Against PovertyEmail: media@taxpayersagainstpovery.org  Website: www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk

About Taxpayers Against PovertyTaxpayers against Poverty is a UK-based independent advocacy group dedicated to tackling poverty, inequality, and economic injustice TAP seeks to influence national and local policy by promoting practical economic proposals that have a positive effect on reducing poverty and unnecessary financial hardship using a direct approach to decision makers and other influencers.

TAP was founded by the late Rev Paul Nicolson and is led by Tom Burgess, author of From Here to Prosperity, a new political agenda for a sustainable economy and greater social justice, which proposes taxing wealth more and income less. TAP is part of Real Agenda Ltd, a not-for-profit social enterprise bringing together campaigns, research, media and public engagement to tackle poverty, inequality and the barriers preventing people from thriving, this includes Compassion in Politics which seeks to bring more honesty, respect and compassion into political life as well as The Progressive Policy Unit (PPU) which develops practical, evidence-based proposals on poverty prevention, economic fairness, taxation, public services and social wellbeing.