Tag: Poverty

Proper 20, 16th Sunday after Trinity 

20th September 2026

Reflection with readings below

God is a God of mercy, of forgiveness, of second chances.

Likewise we are called to be as generous and as forgiving. But to forgive, is not to condone or encourage the continuance of words and actions that are contri to God’s wisdom. Rather than condoning shortcomings – whether in ourselves or others – we are called to encourage and put into practice lifestyles that pursue God’s wisdom. And as the letter to the Philippians reminds us, our Christian calling will include sacrifice – will include putting the needs of others before our own.

We all have a duty to look at our own actions, to see what is contri to God’s wisdom, and to repent and reform our lives. We also have a duty to speak out when we see wrong happening in the lives of others, when we see wrong being condoned, and when we see systemic wrong.

In examining ourselves and the world around us we are not to judge according to our own desires and bias, but according to God’s wisdom – and we may be surprised, even discomforted, when this seems to favour others rather than ourselves; when this seems to involve us in making sacrifices, putting the needs of others before ourselves – or what can be even harder –  putting the needs of others before our own families and communities. Here we might empathise with Jonah’s grievance that God, having judged the wicked behaviour of the Ninevites, is so quick to shower them with benefits when they repent, whilst Jonah goes unrewarded. 

We might equally empathise with the all-day workers in the vineyard whose long and gruelling working receives no greater reward than the light-weight input of the latecomers. I think we might equally find it hard to persuade the all-day workers that they were not being penalised, to explain that in reality the whole community benefits when all are provided for equally. This understanding is countercultural to many norms of the present day. Indeed the political and economic systems of our world reinforce the idea – and practice – of rewarding those who are already advantaged, and disadvantaging those who are already struggling. 

This week three such instances come to mind. The Guardian has been highlighting the newly published Register of British Slave Traders that reveals the widespread extent to which British individuals and organisations promoted and benefitted from the transatlantic slave trade. Profits accruing from the economic advantage of cheap labour plus the profits accruing from commandeering the natural resources of other countries through colonialism, boosted the British economy ensuring that we are today one of the richest nations in the world. Many will argue that as much as we abhor slavery, the era of the transatlantic slave trade is in the past and no one from the current generation can in any way be responsible for what happened then. Nevertheless the economic well being we enjoy is rooted in those profits. Should we not then be pursuing restorative justice? 

Next week at the UN conference in New York, members will be considering the creation of an International Panel on Inequality- similar to the International Panel on Climate Change – to find a way of reversing the acceleration distribution of wealth across the globe. Between 2000 and 2024, the richest 1 % of the global population has captured 41 % of all new wealth, while the bottom 50 % saw their wealth increase by just 1 %. And 83% of countries, representing about 90 % of the world’s population, have highly unequal societies. Further data suggests that accumulated and inherited wealth — with an estimated $70 trillion expected to be passed on over the next decade — as a key driver entrenching inequality and undermining social mobility, fairness, and opportunity for lower-income populations. Inequality invariably leads to democratic decline, political instability and the potential for conflict. Would we be willing to see a global redistribution of wealth and resources as well as a redistribution of wealth within our own society? Should we be willing to see our personal wealth taxed? 

Nepal is seeking a payout from the Climate loss and damage fund to enable them to rebuild lives and infrastructure destroyed by the glacial tsunami. This fund was established in 2022 to pay for loss and damage that results from climate change events, with the intention that the  developed nations would each make appropriate financial contributions. Those nations who had contributed most to the climate crisis through – and benefited most from –  decades of coal, oil and gas fuelled industrialisation, would contribute most to the fund. However many nations, including the UK, reneged on the scale of their promises, and the fund is already struggling to pay out on the 100 plus prior claims already in the queue ahead of Nepal. Again the question has to be are we willing to forego some of our wealth and income to aid those most impacted by the consequences of our actions?

In each example I would argue that God’s justice demands a self sacrificing generosity. Equally I would suggest that to do so will not only benefit the recipients, but ourselves too. For it is the whole community benefits when all are provided for equally. Like the all-day workers in the vineyard we may initially resent what is being asked of us, but when we step back and see the benefits of the in-coming of God’s kingdom here on earth, we will share in the rejoicing.

How do we achieve this in practice I’m not sure. It could be by giving sacrificial to appropriate charities. It could be by campaigning alongside groups such as Christian Aid, Oxfam and Global Justice. It could be by campaigning directly to change government policy. It could be by encouraging and supporting the reparative justice objectives of the Church of England’s Spire Project. It could be by talking with our family, with our friends, normalising the concept, rooting it as a key part of our Christian discipleship.

What is important is that is those with the most wealth and income who contribute, not those with the least. And that it is those with least who then benefit. 

Jonah 3:10-4:11

When God saw what the people of Nineveh did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.

The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Psalm 145:1-8 

1 I will exalt you, O God my King, *
and bless your Name for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I bless you *
and praise your Name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; *
there is no end to his greatness.

4 One generation shall praise your works to another *
and shall declare your power.

5 I will ponder the glorious splendour of your majesty *
and all your marvellous works.

6 They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts, *
and I will tell of your greatness.

7 They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; *
they shall sing of your righteous deeds.

8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.

Philippians 1:21-30

To me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well– since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” 

Counting on 2026 …. Day 42

14th May

Simplicity ‘is to begin the slow work of learning how to live within limits that are not only necessary, but life-giving.’ (1)

Living simply I choose to buy less things. It is not because I seek a life of poverty but that I want to,love a life that doesn’t unnecessarily take from the Earth’s resources. For when that is done without regard and excess, the life is diminished, even destroyed – that would be poverty.

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 36

5th May

Over the next few days I shall be reflecting on some of the issues raised in the Hazelnut Community’s recent edition of Rooted in Rubble, about living simply – https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

“There is a profound difference between the pain of poverty and the choice of simplicity. Poverty is not freedom. It is constraint, often imposed and unjust, limiting choice and exhausting those who live within it. It must never be romanticised or reframed as virtue.” 

This is clearly an important point to highlight. I think it places a responsibility on those of us who have choices, to make choices that benefit the poor and those disadvantaged by our economic system. In other words we shouldn’t just withdraw from world in order to enjoy lives of simple living, but should create lives of simple living within or alongside the world so that we can also find ways of changing the world so that it does benefit the poor and estranged.

This might be by campaigning, writing to our MP, signing petitions. It might be by choosing to buy from or support companies that operate fairly and proactively in favour of the poor and vulnerable (explore for example, fair trade companies and B Corps). It might be by giving generously to, or otherwise supporting, organisations that seek to improve the wellbeing and opportunities of the poor and marginalised.

Living simply should not prevent us from, but actively prompt us to, better loving our neighbour!

Counting on 2026 …. Day 32

29th April

I am a Franciscan tertiary. One of the things that drew me to the way of St Francis was the example of living simply. Francis himself chose absolute poverty as his lifestyle, but for those in the third order – those who aim to combine the spirit of Francis with everyday as opposed to monastic life (a movement established by Francis himself), living in poverty is revisioned as living simply.

For me this is not buying more than I need. I don’t need numerous pairs of running shoes and leggings. I don’t need new outfits every season. I don’t need to fill my kitchen with juicers/ air fryers/ rice cookers/ food processors etc. Rather I can make things last, I can mend things (when our sheets wear thin in the middle, I cut them in half and resew them, edges to the middle). I do without items. I take pleasure in having things that have a history – my current jacket was my husband’s school blazer.

Green Tau: Food insecurity & what we can do

28th March 2023 update 2nd January 2026

1. Ensuring people have a sufficient income to buy the food they need.


1b.. Growing our own food and enabling others to do likewise.

2. Taking action to limit keep rising global temperatures below 1.5C – curbing climate change will improve the chances of better harvests.

3.  Paying  a fair price for the food we eat. You might buy direct from a farm  – eg https://www.riverford.co.uk/ – or a group of  farms, or via a local vegetable box scheme. You might support a local farmers’ market. You might buy from a local independent green grocer. Similarly you might buy milk etc from a milk round where the price reflects the cost to the farmer. For cheeses, look to buy from small scale producers via a local cheese shop. And again buying fair trade options for imported foods can help ensure a fair price for the producer. Alternatively look out for products – coffee beans and chocolate in particularly – that have been  sourced directly from the grower. These  are often available through local independent shops and cafés.

Another option would be to subscribe to the OddBox fruit and veg scheme which buys food stuffs that would otherwise go to waste because they are misshapen, because the supermarket doesn’t want the crop, or because the crop has been too large or too small for the supermarket buyer –  https://www.oddbox.co.uk/ 

4. Buying from local producers and local retailers helps to improve local supply chains. 

5. Again the best approach to improving global food security and ensuring there is enough food for everyone is to reduce – or cut out completely – animal products.

6. To support and encourage the maintenance of healthy soil, you might choose to buy organic produce (https://www.soilassociation.org/ ), or source items produced using  regenerative farming practices (https://regenerativefoodandfarming.co.uk/)

7. You might read about and take on board the ideals of the  Planetary Health Diet – a diet devised by the Eat-Lancet Commission as the most healthy diet for humans and for the planet: https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet/the-planetary-health-diet/

8. To improve the  security of our food supplies  through diversity, expand the range of foods you eat. Try different sorts and fruit and vegetables, different types of grain – emmer, einkorn, spelt, black barley  – and different sorts of nuts, spices etc. This can also improve your health – it is recommended that our diets should include 30 or more different types of fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains etc per week. See for example https://www.theguthealthdoctor.com/how-to-get-your-gut-loving-30-plant-points-a-week.

9. Improving biodiversity as a whole is a good preventative against diseases that could ravaged farm production. You might therefore choose to grow more wild/ native plants in your garden, or choose plants that support and encourage biodiversity in terms of birds, insects, butterflies, and bats etc. many web sites have suggestions about improving the biodiversity of your garden including those of the RSPB and the Natural History Museum. You might want to support charities and organisations that encourage biodiversity and even extend that to the re-wilding of land, both in the UK – eg https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/explore-rewilding/what-is-rewilding – and overseas – https://www.cleanupthetropicaltimbertrade.org/about ,   https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/importance_forests/tropical_rainforest/ ,   http://savetheorangutan.org.uk/

Counting on … 182

7th  November 2025

The Eat-Lancet Commission reports that report, currently the “wealthiest 30% of people drive more than 70% of food-related environmental impacts” (1) but this is not the only way that wealth and food produce inequalities. Lack of money means many people go hungry and many others cannot afford a healthy diet.

Here in the UK the Food Foundation’s research showed that 14% of households experienced food insecurity in June 2024 affecting approximately 7.2 million adults. 18% of households with children experienced food insecurity in the same period affecting an estimated 2.7 million children. Their  report, The Broken Plate, also noted that “many people in the UK lack the financial means to access decent food and that much of the food readily available and marketed to us is damaging our health and the planet.” (2) 

Further they also highlighted  that such inequalities affect not only the individual’s wellbeing but also that of their communities. “Food is a huge part of all of our lives, nourishing and fuelling us. It impacts our health, happiness and overall prosperity. But the current food system is holding our nation back. Because it is so difficult to eat healthily, poor diet is now the biggest risk for preventable disease, placing massive strain on our NHS.” (3)

Food, including food production and access to food, is a climate issue, a health issue, an economic issue as well as a justice issue.

(1) https://eatforum.org/update/eat-lancet-commission-warns-food-systems-breach-planetary-limits/

(2) https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/broken-plate-2025

(3) https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/nourishing-nation

Proper 23

12th October 2025

Reflection with readings below

The Victorian had differing views about the poor. There were the deserving poor – those who by ill chance not fecklessness had become poor and who wed good and honest people who,would make good use of your charity and would be eternally grateful. And there were the undeserving poor – those who had by laziness stupidity made themselves poor, who would squander any charity they received and would never utter a word of thanks. In fact that is an attitude that still exists today. In 2023, Jeremy Hunt, the then chancellor, spoke about ‘strivers and shirkers’.

Poverty arises for very many reasons, key among which are lack of opportunity – usually linked to inequalities of wealth –  a failure to understand specific needs and the systemic failure of society. This week Pope Leo wrote of the “many forms of poverty: the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalised and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty . . . the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom.” 

In today’s gospel we hear how ten lepers came to Jesus seeking healing. Jesus doesn’t question them to see which might be most deserving of his help. He doesn’t assess them to see which might make best use of his healing power. He doesn’t exclude from healing those who are not Jewish. He doesn’t even limit his healing to those who will be truly grateful.

Jesus’s healing is not limited to just some people some of the time, nor is it dependent on their righteousness or even their love of God. God’s love is offered to all without exception. To give, to share love, to desire the healing and wellbeing of all is the essential nature of God. Indeed God so loved the world that she gave her only Son for our salvation. 

When we consider the poor in our own country, when we consider the poor in Gaza and in Israel, when we consider the poor in North Sudan – when we hear their cry – we are called to respond with open hearts and purses, not limiting our love to those who look and think like us, to those we think are deserving of our concern. Indeed if we thought about it, healing just some of the wounds in the world will be to leave ourselves with a damaged world in which we too may then become victims.

The passage from Jeremiah is God’s message to those going into exile. Don’t just be good citizens in your own homes, in your own country, but be good citizens where ever you are. Don’t be good citizens just when you are the ones in power, but whatever your situation, whatever your environment, be good citizens, for only then will you protect the environment that sustains you. 

In the same way, not to care for the poor, is not to care for your own future and wellbeing. Yet so many of our economic and social systems, so many people (those in authority and those who are not) operate on the premise that hearing out for the cry of the poor – and the cry of the Earth – is not important, that spending the needs of the poor is a luxury when there is spare money, and that actually looking after number one is the key to survival. This is certainly not the gospel message! 

To finish, more words from Pope Leo: “The dignity of every human person must be respected today, not tomorrow, and the extreme poverty of all those to whom this dignity is denied should constantly weigh upon our consciences. . . Either we regain our moral and spiritual dignity or we fall into a cesspool”.

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Psalm 66:1-11

1 Be joyful in God, all you lands; *
sing the glory of his Name;
sing the glory of his praise.

2 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! *
because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.

3 All the earth bows down before you, *
sings to you, sings out your Name.”

4 Come now and see the works of God, *
how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people.

5 He turned the sea into dry land,
so that they went through the water on foot, *
and there we rejoiced in him.

6 In his might he rules for ever;
his eyes keep watch over the nations; *
let no rebel rise up against him.

7 Bless our God, you peoples; *
make the voice of his praise to be heard;

8 Who holds our souls in life, *
and will not allow our feet to slip.

9 For you, O God, have proved us; *
you have tried us just as silver is tried.

10 You brought us into the snare; *
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

11 You let enemies ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water; *
but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David– that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful–
for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Counting on … 157

3rd October 2025

“Growing wealth inequality in the UK could be a “major driver of societal collapse” within the next decade, according to a new report by the Fairness Foundation and the Policy Institute and Department of War Studies at King’s College London…

“The participants identified a negative feedback loop, whereby the government’s failure to tax wealth effectively means it lacks sufficient revenue to uphold the social contract by which strong public services, an effective social safety net and a healthy economy provide people with decent living standards.

“Trust in politics then declines further, politicians avoid honest discussions of the underlying problems and what to do about them, and the system’s legitimacy is increasingly questioned as the social contract collapses.” (1) 

Looking at public attitudes, the report  that “two-thirds (63%) of Britons now think the very rich have too much influence on politics in the UK – far higher than the share who say the same about businesses (40%), religious organisation (40%) or international organisations like the EU and UN (38%).

Improving incomes levels for the poorest, and taxing the richest clearly has multiple benefits.

  1. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/wealth-inequality-risks-triggering-societal-collapse-within-next-decade-report-finds

Counting on … 153

29th September 2025

Another way – or rather a parallel way – of reducing the inequality between rich and poor (so enabling us to live within the inner and outer limits of the doughnut) is to ensure minimum pay rates that are sufficiently generous to enable a good level of wellbeing. In this regard the ‘real living wage’(1) should be a minimum. The current real living wage is £12.60 per hour (outside London) which for a 35 hour week equates to £22,050 per annum.

But how generous is that – is it just a necessary minimum?

According to the calculations of Raisin (2) a comfortable salary for a single person would be £28,018. But add in a young child, and that income would need to increase to £51,363 – or for a couple and one young child, a joint income of £65,810.

And equally what if you earn the real living wage but are only able to get 20 hours a week?

An alternative would be to pay everyone a basic income, paid for from taxation, to ensure that no one falls through the safety net of not having enough income to sustain a reasonable standard of living. 

  1. https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage
  2. https://www.raisin.co.uk/budgeting/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-live-comfortably-uk/

Counting on … 150

24th September 2025

Doughnut economics refutes the mainstream theory that if the wealth of an economy increases, that that wealth will not just reward the rich but will trickle down and benefit the poorest too. 

One flaw in this trickle down argument is that if you are poor is that you often pay more pro-rata than someone who is wealthy.  A rich person who owns a house has both somewhere to live rent free and the means for raising extra money to invest in money making or money saving schemes and products (eg a rich person can afford the cost of a heat pump that will longterm save money). A poor person will not be able to afford to buy a house and instead will be forced to rent so each month income will be going out of their pockets and into the pockets of someone rich enough to own a buy to let property. 

This flow of income away from the poor and to the rich (a trickle up effect) has been documented both nationally and globally. This is something Oxfam reports on annually.

“In 2024, the number of billionaires rose to 2,769, up from 2,565 in 2023. Their combined wealth surged from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just 12 months. This is the second-largest annual increase in billionaire wealth since records began. The wealth of the world’s ten richest men grew on average by almost $100 million a day and even if they lost 99 per cent of their wealth overnight, they would remain billionaires.

“UK billionaires saw their collective wealth increase last year by £35 million a day to £182 billion …. Four new billionaires were created last year, taking the current total to 57.

“Meanwhile, according to the World Bank, the number of people still living in poverty – around 3.5 billion – has barely changed since 1990.“ (1) 

The poverty line  in the UK is determined as households whose income is under 60% of the median household income after housing costs for that year. (2) The Joseph Rowntree Report for 2025 reported that  2 in every 10 adults are in poverty in the UK, with about 3 in every 10 children being in poverty. Further the poorest families – those living in very deep poverty – had an average income that was 57% below the poverty line, with this gap increasing by almost two-thirds over the past 25 years. (3)

  1. https://www.oxfam.org.uk/media/press-releases/billionaire-wealth-surges-three-times-faster-in-2024-world-now-on-track-for-at-least-five-trillionaires-within-a-decade/
  2. https://trustforlondon.org.uk/data/poverty-thresholds/
  3. https://www.fva.org/news.asp?id=21118

For further information read more from Oxfam’s report – https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/621668/bp-takers-not-makers-200125-summ-en.pdf;jsessionid=1D0798BB3DCCC8B2A556159969CB2CD3?sequence=1