Morgan Bestwick

Policy Adviser

Morgan’s work is focused on making work a reliable route out of poverty. She is interested in how improving job quality and ensuring more people can access good work can help tackle in-work poverty. Prior to joining JRF, Morgan worked in the youth sector for the Prince’s Trust and National Citizen Service. She has an MA in Legal and Political Theory from University College London.

Contact

Email: morgan.bestwick@jrf.org.uk

Twitter: @BestwickMorgan

By this author

Designing out hardship and destitution

Not enough food. Can’t heat your home. No bed. Can’t pay the rent. Can’t afford bus fare into town. Can’t afford a friend over for tea. Living in fear of your washing machine or fridge breaking down. Can't sleep because your mind is on fire with stress and worry. These experiences have become all too common in our country.

Deep poverty and destitution

Social security

Work

Housing

An income safety net

Reforming social security, supporting more people into good jobs, and helping people afford housing will shift the dial on deepening poverty. But crucial for protecting from hardship, the foundation to get on, are networks of friendship and help in communities and neighbourhoods, and the local services people rely on.

Deep poverty and destitution

Social security

A place to call home

Everyone needs somewhere to live that provides stability and security - it's essential for people to be able to put down roots and build a life for themselves and their family. But the UK is facing a housing crisis. In this series of briefings we focus on helping people with their housing costs, and tackling homelessness in our communities.

Housing

Protection for everyone in our communities

Destitution should never be used as a policy tool. Everyone in our communities should have a safety net to fall back on in hard times and government policy should not drive people into destitution, no matter where they have come from or how. These are not radical statements, yet they are at odds with where we currently find ourselves.

Foundations: Good jobs, settled homes, access to justice

Creating good quality jobs, helping people afford a safe and settled home, and ensuring they can access what they’re entitled to, are intrinsically connected to tackling hardship.

Deep poverty and destitution

Housing

Work

Employers and the cost of living: Taking action to support your employees

Our latest cost of living tracker reveals distressing levels of debt, arrears, and hardship across the UK. Many people hardest hit are in work, or living in working households. Our new briefing includes essential insight and practical recommendations for employers on how to provide good jobs and support their employees through the cost of living crisis and beyond.

Work

Cost of living

Going without: deepening poverty in the UK

This report considers the changing face of very deep poverty and the risk of going without the essentials. It paints a picture of concentrated deprivation for some family types as the UK entered first the pandemic, then the cost of living crisis.

Deep poverty and destitution

Jobs that work: Paving the way for good jobs through participatory co-design

We outline the process of our participatory co-design project: lessons learned, key reflections, and how bringing together different forms of expertise has given us a richer understanding of the problems of in-work poverty, and a set of solutions we designed together.

Work

Dragged down by debt: Millions of low-income households pulled under by arrears while living costs rise

This new research highlights that low-income households, who have borne the financial brunt of the pandemic so far, are also being dragged down by debt as we look to our economic recovery.

Cost of living

Savings, debt and assets