It's not often that politicians from across the political divide agree, so at the Child Poverty Action Group we were delighted when a recent debate won cross-party consensus about the importance of tackling child poverty.
There was less agreement about how a government achieves the goal of ending child poverty, but the debate, 'Ending child poverty - the next five years', did bring together leading campaigners to share their views and vision for the future, and to listen and learn from one another.
Chaired by The Guardian's Madeleine Bunting at our London headquarters, the debate included Karen Buck the Labour MP, Susan Kramer, Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Richmond Park, and Philippa Stroud from the Centre for Social Justice.
Susan Kramer said that while she was no expert on child poverty, her passion is for housing and the need for decision-makers across London to find ways to ensure families have decent, affordable homes.
Karen Buck, whose constituency is Regents Park and Kensington North, explained that despite its 'leafy' sounding name it has one of the highest levels of free school meal entitlement in the country. She added that although the Government could be proud of its work on raising incomes for the poor, lifting the next quarter of children out of poverty would need further and sustained investment.
Phillipa Stroud focused on the importance of financial support for parents of young children. She argued that family stability and marriage were the key to dealing with long-term child poverty.
The audience, including representatives from the voluntary sector, academics and campaigners, ensured the debate was healthy and vociferous.
Childcare, re-distribution, the social fund and housing benefit all received an airing, confirming that ending child poverty will remain a high-profile political issue.
