get us and uk politics insight with our free daily email briefing straight to your inbox invalid email something went wrong, please try again later. sign up thank you for subscribing we have more newsletters show me see our privacy notice  the number of kids living in poor households soared by 250,000 in a single year of tory-led government, damning new stats show.  data released by hm revenue and customs shows the number of children in low-income families rose from 2.5million to 2.75million between 2013 and 2014.  it means the overall proportion of kids in struggling households has now hit 20% - or one in five of all children.  furious charity campaigners and labour mp accused the tories of failing to protect the most vulnerable kids in society.  imran hussain, director of policy for the child poverty action group, said: “child poverty figures are the best measure we have for whether we really are ‘all in it together’.  image: getty  “what’s clear from these grim figures is that more and more children are being left behind in poverty, missing out on the childhoods and life chances other kids take for granted.  “with two thirds of poor children in working families it’s scandalous that the government isn’t looking to reverse the devastating cuts targeting working families in the new universal credit benefit.“  debbie abrahams, labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, added: “it is deeply shocking to see that 250,000 more children are living in low income households including families who are in work.  “our children should not pay the price for the tories’ failing austerity agenda.  “under labour we made great leaps towards ending child poverty. this government’s warm words will no longer disguise the misery their policies are inflicting.”  image: getty  the hmrc report classes children in low-income families as those either in receipt of out-of-work benefits, or those in receipt of tax credits with an income less than 60% of the national average.  hmrc said the results were down to poorer people’s incomes failing to keep up with those enjoying pay rises - but insisted their actual incomes may not have fallen in all cases.  “the government is committed to delivering a country that works for everyone – not just the privileged few,” a government spokesman said.  “this includes taking action to help the most disadvantaged through tackling the root causes, not just the symptoms, of poverty.”
number of children living in poverty has soared by 250,000 under tory government