Voting Tory In the KCC Elections, Will Harm Your Children.

Since 2013, child deprivation has increased year on year across all wards in Shepway. Once housing costs are taken into account,  nearly one in three children live in poverty, when previously it was one in five.  45% of Children in Folkestone Harvey Central Ward now called Folkestone Central Ward, and the long time seat of Cllr David Monk Leader of SDC, Cllr Dick Pascoe and Cllr Rodica Wheeler (all pictured below) demonstrates voting for Cllr Monk or Cllr Pascoe in the forthcoming KCC elections (they are both candidates) is bad for your children’s health, education and life opportunities. So think twice, Vote Rylands on May 4th.

    

Figures released in 2013 by Shepway Green Party, show that average child deprivation in Shepway was 23%, meaning 5259 children were living in poverty in Shepway in 2013. The latest figures to be released, Nov 2016, show that the number of children in poverty in Shepway has risen to 6799 and the percentage to 29.4% (see graph below).  That means 1540 more children now live poverty in Shepway. Voting Tory is not good for your children. Their policies have made things worse.

In 2013 KCC Cllr Martin Whybrow (Green Party – pictured) commented  “The gap between the richest and poorest in the country is becoming ever wider. The child poverty statistics and the rise of food banks reflects this, while imminent legislation (the benefit cap) will only worsen the divide. It is a wholly immoral state of affairs.” I couldn’t agree with him more

Across Shepway as whole, the number of unemployed has dropped. The Tories tell us that there is record employment in the district and the country. But work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty in the UK. Two-thirds (66%) of children growing up in poverty live in a family where at least one member works.

Child poverty has long-lasting effects. By GCSE, there is a 28% gap between children receiving free school meals and their wealthier peers in terms of the number achieving at least 5 A*-C GCSE grades.

Poverty is also related to more complicated health histories over the course of a lifetime, again influencing earnings as well as the overall quality – and indeed length – of life. Men in the most deprived areas of England have a life expectancy 9.2 years shorter than men in the least deprived areas. They also spend 14% less of their life in good health. Women share similar statistics.

So to put it into a nice graph to make it easy to comprehend you can see Cllr Monk’s Cllr Pascoe’s and Cllr Wheeler’s ward, Folkestone Harvey Central which is part of the Folkestone West Division, are not good for children’s health, education or life opportunities. So Vote Rylands on May 4th as I will campaign for every child, as they are the future and they all need the best start in life, which Cllr Monk and his party have not given them.

All poverty figures are after housing costs, except where otherwise indicated

Vote Rylands    Folkestone West Division    May 4th 2017

Published & Promoted by Bryan Rylands Flat D Avenay Court Folkestone CT20 2LN

All the information above is my own and does not represent the views of the Shepwayvox Team who have kindly allowed me to use their blogsite.