By Graham Whitham, Chief Executive Officer at Resolve Poverty
We are really pleased to announce that Greater Manchester Poverty Action has today rebranded to become Resolve Poverty.
Since we were founded, we’ve been supporting anti-poverty efforts across Greater Manchester. As a result of our work and that of partner organisations, all ten of the city region’s councils have either introduced or committed to introduce anti-poverty strategies, several public bodies have voluntarily adopted the socio-economic duty, and 785 local organisations have become accredited Living Wage employers. More recently, via our programmes work, we’ve helped local families gain access to over £350,000 in benefits through Money Matters and we’ve expanded our Money Advice Referral Tool to seven boroughs.
What’s exciting is that this collective action in Greater Manchester is generating more and more interest across the country. Local authorities and partners from Lancashire to London have begun seeking our expertise to tackle poverty, and we’ve reached a point where we want to be able to speak to, work with and train localities across the country, helping them to tackle poverty in their areas while gaining insights which will further strengthen our work here in Greater Manchester.
It is clearer than ever that the UK needs a national plan to end poverty. Local councils and partners have a central role to play in any such plan. We have the experience, knowledge and tools to support localities across the country to maximise the impact they can have in resolving poverty.
That’s why it’s time for a new name, one that reflects the full scope of our work and our ambitious new strategy for 2024-2028. We will always be a Greater Manchester organisation at heart, with a strong local network and roots – but we’re now ready to support places across the country to tackle poverty, as part of a national mission to end it.
With the General Election taking place next week, we see this timing as a perfect opportunity to send a clear message to whoever forms a new government on 5 July: the country urgently needs a national mission to end poverty, driven by Westminster and delivered in localities.
As of today, we evolve to Resolve Poverty. We hope that you’re as excited about our new chapter as we are.