‘While our population during the last century increased three and a half times, the wealth of the community increased over six times. But one factor in our national life remained with us all through the century, and is with us still, and that is that at the bottom of the social scale there is a mass of poverty and misery equal in magnitude to that which obtained 100 years ago. I submit that the true test of progress is not the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, but the elevation of a people as a whole.’ (Keir Hardie, Labour Party leader, House of Commons, 23 April 1901)

‘The word poor is one the government actually disputes.’ (Mr Hickey, DHSS Assistant Secretary for Policy on Family Benefits and Low Income, Evidence to House of Commons Social Security Select Committee, 15 September 1989)

‘Where is the fairness, we ask, for the shift-worker, leaving home in the dark hours of the early morning, who looks up at the closed blinds of their next door neighbour sleeping off a life on benefits? When we say we’re all in this together, we speak for that worker. We speak for all those who want to work hard and get on.’ (George Osborne, Chancellor, 8 October 2012)

‘That means fighting against the burning injustice that if you’re born poor you will die on average nine years earlier than others. If you’re black, you’re treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you’re white. If you’re a white working class boy, you’re less likely than anybody else in Britain to go to university. If you’re at a state school, you’re less likely to reach the top professions than if you’re educated privately. If you’re a woman, you will earn less than a man. If you suffer from mental health problems, there's not enough help to hand. If you’re young, you’ll find it harder than ever before to own your own home…. The Government I lead will be driven, not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours.’ (Theresa May's first speech as Prime Minister, 13 July 2016)