Labour has failed to close poverty gap, figures show

The government made little impact on closing the gap between rich and poor during its first three years in office, according to official figures published yesterday.

Although the number of children living in poverty fell slightly, pensioners appeared to be missing out on the benefits of Labour's drive to reduce inequalities.

The annual poverty figures published by National Statistics showed the divide between rich and poor has widened under Labour. The share of total income received by the bottom 10 per cent of those on the income scale fell from 3.1 per cent in the 1994-95 financial year to 2.9 per cent in 1999-2000, while the share going to those in the top 10 per cent bracket increased from 27 per cent to 29 per cent.

The figures prompted immediate criticism of Labour's record in combating poverty, with campaigners for the low paid pointing to comments by Tony Blair during the general election that he wanted to make the poor richer rather than the rich poorer. They said yesterday's report showed the need for a more active policy of wealth redistribution.

National Statistics said that the number of people in Great Britain living below the poverty line – less than half average earnings – remained steady at 19 per cent of the population in the first three years after Labour came to power. In the 1999-2000 financial year, the latest covered by the figures, there were 10.7 million people in poverty, the same number that Labour inherited in 1997.

The number of working age adults in poverty rose from 5.1 million in the final year of the last Tory Government to 5.3 million in 1999-2000. In the same year, there were 2.2 million pensioners below the poverty line, an increase of 200,000 on the Tories' last year in power.

However, the better news for Labour was that the number of children growing up in poverty fell from 3.3 million under the Tories to 3.2 million in 1999-2000. The Blair Government has pledged to eliminate child poverty over a generation.

Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said the figures showed that "real progress" was being made. He pointed to other statistics in the report in suggesting 300,000 fewer children and 100,000 fewer pensioners living in poverty in 1999-00 compared with 1996-97.

Mr Darling said: "The report covers a period in which we only began to introduce key anti-poverty policies, like the working families' tax credit, the minimum income guarantee and the national minimum wage."

But Steve Webb, spokesman for the Liberal Democrats on pensions and work, said the figures revealed "three wasted years" of Labour rule. "Despite small falls in poverty since coming to power, Labour has barely put a dent in the inequality that was created during the Thatcher years," he said.