NOT ACCEPTABLE: Labour MP for Bradford West, Naz Shah, said that poverty is something that her constituents will not ‘silently accept’
NOT ACCEPTABLE: Labour MP for Bradford West, Naz Shah, said that poverty is something that her constituents will not ‘silently accept’

Two Bradford constituencies have been named as Yorkshire’s most ‘poverty-stricken’ places to live, according to a major new study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Bradford West is the joint fourth most deprived constituency in the country according to the study which also found that one in four people across the county could only pay household bills for a month if they lost their job.

Local Labour MP, Naz Shah, said she would speak to Government ministers and local leaders about the ‘glaring problems faced by our residents’.

She said: “It is not acceptable that people do not have enough money to live, to heat their homes and put food on the table. Poverty cannot be something that we silently accept.”

Bradford West heads a list of places in Yorkshire where working-age adults were most in danger of living in poverty, whether they had a job or not, with Bradford East in joint second with Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.

Bradford South was placed seventh, Keighley was joint 21st and Shipley came 28th.

The report also showed that the risk of a working-age adult being in poverty has increased in Bradford West since 2010, while it has reduced in Bradford East, Bradford South, Shipley and Keighley.

Imran Hussain, Labour MP for Bradford East, said: “These figures are extremely concerning and they demonstrate all too clearly that poverty and the risk of falling into poverty remains a serious issue for far too many people in Bradford, including those who are already in work, but work that is too insecure and pays too little.”

Bradford South Labour MP Judith Cummins said: “This research goes to underline what I and many residents of Bradford have known for some time: that despite weekly front page headlines of better times, poverty is sadly only one payslip away for many residents and families living across Bradford.”

Shipley Conservative MP Philip Davies, said: “There are no painless ways out of the huge debts we piled up as a country, and I am well aware that many people have struggled over the last eight years or so to make ends meet.

“Clearly there are still some people who are finding it tough and the Government needs to help in any way it can within the budget constraints we still have.”

Keighley Conservative MP Kris Hopkins said he welcomed improvements in poverty levels in Keighley but said there was still ‘more to do’.