The Big Issue’s Prevention Manifesto

While Brexit remains the flag under which this election sails, there are many problems that need addressed – including around poverty, health, social care, education, literacy, housing and pay equality.

At The Big Issue, we believe that rather than funnel ever-decreasing resources at the problems once they’ve grown, we should learn ways to nip these problems in the bud and prevent them from happening in the first place. The prevention strategy is at the heart of The Big Issue thinking, and we’re calling on the political parties who are clamouring for YOUR vote to put it at the heart of theirs.

The prevention strategy is at the heart of The Big Issue thinking

Below is our Prevention Manifesto. We want to recruit an army of Big Issue activists to challenge candidates in every UK Parliament constituency ahead of the upcoming general election. If you want to to take action, use our Big Issue toolkit for change.

The Big Issue’s Prevention Manifesto

We believe in a fence at the top of the cliff, not an ambulance at the bottom. We believe in prevention over cure.

More than £17bn a year is spent in England and Wales on short-run late intervention. And in Scotland, 40 per cent of public spending is targeted at problems that could have been avoided.

We believe prevention should be at the heart of every policy when it comes to poverty.

Better use of resources will improve the quality of people’s lives, will reduce the need for expensive state services and help safeguard the future.

We believe in planning for the future and making the most of what you have.

Investing in people’s lives early on will provide routes out of poverty, into better futures, for the poorest in society.

We believe in social opportunity, that social enterprises offer a third way to deal with social problems that governments and business can’t always see.

We want a clear commitment to literacy, with guaranteed funds for local library services.

We want to see a plan to revolutionise our NHS, with an increased budget for prevention, and a shift to social and community medicine.

We want social justice for all, with opportunities that give people a hand up out of poverty, into better futures.