Quote of the day

"I must say I was disappointed to say the least by the extraordinary political nature of his language."

Amber Rudd, talking in the House of Commons about Philip Alston's UN report into poverty. Perhaps if she and her Tory colleagues, rather than trivialising or dismissing concerns, actually got out and saw what is happening around the country - as Alston did, and as the contributors to the Invisible Britain book have done - they might understand why his tone was so severe and his criticisms so unequivocal. The people directly and indirectly impacted by the government's austerity measures and particularly the flawed Universal Credit scheme are a lot more than merely disappointed - and their anger is entirely justified.

Alston has since responded, remaining unapologetic and suggesting that the feeling of disappointment is distinctly mutual: "I think that dismissing a report that is full of statistics and first-hand testimony on the grounds that the minister didn't appreciate the tone of the report rather misses the point. I remain hopeful that Amber Rudd might actually take some of the steps needed to address the worst aspects of the existing approach."