UK Poverty Surges Most in 30 Years to 12 Million as Cost of Living Crisis Bites

Absolute poverty in the UK saw its biggest rise in 30 years due to the energy price crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The number of people in absolute poverty jumped to 12 million in 2022-2023, an increase of 600,000 or 0.78 percentage points
Even more families would have fallen into poverty without government support like Cost of Living payments
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said unprecedented government support prevented 1.3 million people from falling into poverty
Labour criticized the conservative government for the rise in poverty, blaming the cost of living crisis