IN-WORK poverty has more than doubled in Britain — growing at the second-fastest rate in Europe — since the Tories took power in 2010, the Morning Star can reveal. 

The number of people considered to be working poor in Britain rose by 51 per cent between 2010 to 2019, the Star’s analysis of a report by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), released today, has found.

In contrast, the average rise across all 28 European Union countries was 12 per cent.

The ETUC said that the rise in workers at risk of poverty came despite the European economy improving during the period assessed.

Hungary was the only nation with a bigger increase than the UK, at 58 per cent, while Austria and Sweden had the lowest increases, of 1 per cent. 

The report also shows that the UK is one of four countries where the minimum wage is below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold — 60 per cent of national median income.

In October, the European Commission published a proposal for a directive on minimum wages — but it does nothing to stop statutory minimum wages being set below the threshold of a poverty wage.

Across the EU, young people, migrant workers and those with temporary contracts are among the worst affected, the report also found.

A survey by Unite revealed yesterday that while millions face a descent into poverty, more than half of people in Britain want the £20-per-week boost to universal credit (UC) to be made permanent. 

The union warned that Britain has long had one of the weakest welfare safety nets in Europe and that it would be “morally and financially repugnant” to end the £20 uplift.

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said: “With savage and heartbreaking rising unemployment, some six million people in this country rely on UC. 

“The £20 uplift may seem like pennies to the government, but it is literally the difference between turning the heating on or buying a warm coat for the kids for millions.
 
“Snatching back this cash will be cruel in the extreme — and will certainly offend the voting public.
 
“What Covid-19 has cruelly exposed is the inadequacy of the current welfare system – one of the meanest in Europe – and the entrenched inequalities for some of the country’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged families.”