Actor Brian Cox asks Government to act on poverty after living ‘brutal reality'

Yahoo

19-03-2025

Actor Brian Cox has called on the UK Government to take action on childhood poverty after saying he lived through its 'brutal reality' during his own youth.
The 78-year-old has written an open letter asking for the Government to work with devolved governments to help the 4.3 million children Action For Children says are living in poverty in the UK.
Succession star Cox said: 'Today, I write not as an actor, but as someone who has lived through the brutal reality of poverty.
'As the youngest of five children, I had a blissful childhood until my father tragically died when I was eight.
'Overnight, our world changed, and we were plunged into poverty. I experienced first-hand how poverty doesn't just take away comforts, it also steals your childhood and hope for the future.
'I was one of the lucky ones to have managed to turn things around, but I know that today, the odds are stacked high against families who are trying to do the same.
'Right now, 4.3 million children in the UK are living in poverty – a staggering nine in every classroom of 30. These aren't just statistics; they are children whose futures are being dimmed by a system that is failing them.
'It's easy to believe that poverty happens elsewhere, yet it's happening on our doorsteps. It's the child on the bus, the child in the school playground, the child next door.
'You see it in small, heart-breaking moments – a child tugging at clothes that fit them too snugly because new ones aren't an option, children overhearing their parents worried about how to make ends meet.
(1/4) In 2024, we published the Jay Review, an analysis into what's working to protect children from criminal exploitation and detail what more can be done.
As we mark National Child Exploitation Awareness Day #CEADAY2025, despite progress, our recommendations still stand. pic.twitter.com/oYkR7gd8c7
— Action for Children (@actnforchildren) March 18, 2025
'These burdens weigh down on young shoulders that shouldn't have to carry them in the first place.'
Cox urged people to sign Action For Children's open letter to the Government, calling for every child to have a safe and happy childhood, free from 'the stubborn grip of poverty'.
The Paying The Price campaign letter calls for the Government to lift more than one million children out of poverty by 2030 and halve child poverty within 20 years, ahead of the publication of its new child poverty strategy.
Cox added: 'The challenge isn't just a moral one, it's also an investment in our country's future.'
During his acting career, Cox has made his name playing tyrannical characters including media mogul Logan Roy in Succession, Nazi leader Hermann Goering in 2000's historical drama Nuremberg, and corrupt CIA operative Ward Abbott in 2002's The Bourne Identity and 2004's The Bourne Supremacy.