'Overnight, our world changed, and we were plunged into poverty'

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 firsthand 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, heartbreaking 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. These burdens weigh down on young shoulders that shouldn’t have to carry them in the first place.

Ahead of the publication of the government’s new child poverty strategy, I'm supporting Action for Children’s ‘Paying the Price’ campaign. This calls on the UK government working with the devolved nations to lift more than one million children out of poverty by 2030 and halve child poverty within 20 years. The challenge isn’t just a moral one, it’s also an investment in our country’s future.

Will you help us on our mission by signing Action for Children’s open letter to the government? Every child deserves a safe and happy childhood, free from the stubborn grip of poverty. Yours sincerely, Brian Cox Actor and Action for Children supporter.