NOBODY SHOULD DIE IN POVERTY CAMPAIGN

I was delighted to meet with Marie Curie UK’s to discuss the charity’s end-of-life Nobody Should Die In Poverty Campaign.

The goal is to extend financial support for people with a terminal illness and their families and the charity’s petition already has over 100,000 signatures. You can access the petition by clicking the link: https://campaigns.mariecurie.org.uk/.../105296/petition/1...

According to Marie Curie funded research around 90,000 people die in poverty in the UK each year, with one in four working age people dying in poverty. This makes working age people twice as likely to die in poverty than someone who lives past pension age.

It is truly shameful that ten people die in poverty every hour in the UK. As one of the wealthiest nations in the world this just should not be happening.

In North Ayrshire alone, the most recent figures - for 2019 - show that 87 working people died in poverty and 127 pensioners died in poverty.

It’s harrowing to hear about the plight of so many working people falling into poverty after a terminal diagnosis, and Marie Curie’s campaign is doing great work to highlight the areas in which financial safety nets are not suitable for the needs of dying people, especially working age people and working age parents.

I’m proud to support this campaign and encourage everyone to sign the online petition to improve the lives of terminally ill people and their families.